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>>>>> "DW" == Dave Wolfe <dwolfe@risc.sps.mot.com> writes:
DW> But "thread mode" for your mail reader is obviously *not*
DW> subject/thread sorting. The two depend on entirely different headers
DW> and may or may not coexist in a given mail reader.
Exactly.
Besides, most MUAs do not generate References headers; they are not
required for Internet mail, so "threading" must be performed on Subject
header contents.
This becomes problematical with list tags. One common MUA (Lotus cc:Mail)
will turn the subject above into something that looks like this once it
goes through Majordomo:
(MJ) Re[1]: (MJ) Re: (MJ) tag prefix on each subject line
Then when a German version of Microsoft Exchange gets it, the reply's
Subject looks something like this after Mj is done with it:
(MJ) Aw: (MJ) Re[1]: (MJ) Re: (MJ) tag prefix on each subject line
These clearly will not match this Subject header:
Re: (MJ) tag prefix on each subject line
The result is that even though the two messages should be "clumped"
together they will not because as far as Gnus is concerned the two header
contents are different strings.
Admittedly this is a worst-case type of scenario, but it will happen
because everyone wants the MUA they write to do something different. Thus
cc:Mail's numbering (and thus screwing up) of 'Re:' prefixes and the German
version of Exchange's 'Aw:' instead of 'Re:'. Some MUAs use "Fw:" instead
of "Fwd:".
Throw list tags into the brew and forget being able to distinguish between
what should be stripped and what should not. Any code aggressive enough to
catch every list's tag string will not be subtle enough not to strip
something it should not. You can treat every list as a special case, but
that is a big pain in the behind... and it will still occasionally strip
something it should not. For instance, this:
Re: (MJ) I hate these (MJ) list tags
may be transformed into this:
Re: I hate these list tags
You can limit the match/strip to the first instance of the tag string, but
that may not be aggressive enough to deal with some of the transformations
that some MUAs may put Subject headers through.
Or you can simply not use list tags and let the subscribers learn to use
their tools.
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--
Rich Pieri <rich.pieri@prescienttech.com> | Happy Fun Ball contains a liquid
Prescient Technologies, Inc. | core, which, if exposed due to
A Stone & Webster Company | rupture, should not be touched,
I speak for myself, not PTI or SWEC | inhaled, or looked at.
References:
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