On 07/28/2011 09:59 AM Tony Mountifield wrote: > In article <sig.51907ae09c.CAAj3DjkxVacpejZzYYwUhqSpfeW2pKeN93XrFbMbd8jnVScZug at mail.gmail.com>, > Rudi Ahlers <Rudi at SoftDux.com> wrote: >> On Thu, Jul 28, 2011 at 3:19 PM, Keith Roberts <keith at karsites.net> wrote: >>> Is that why it's frowned upon to use a current thread to >>> start a new one? Like doing a 'reply to' and then changing >>> the subject line? >> Yup. Even if you change the subject, the email headers still remain >> and many email clients use the email headers to group the mails >> relevant to that conversation > > By that token, adding [SOLVED] is not such a problem after all! > > I personally find it useful to see [SOLVED] without having to open > each post to find which one in a long thread contains the solution. > > Convention has it that only the original poster adds [SOLVED], when > summarising how the original problem was overcome. - i.e. suggested > solutions from others do not add it. > > Tony The effect of changing the Subject line is going to vary with the email reader and composer apps which are used. (Though I'm not versed well enough in the internals of mail servers to say, off the top of my head I can't see why they would handle mail any differently due to a change in the Subject line.) Among the numerous header lines of the email from Tony above is this one: In-Reply-To: <sig.51907ae09c.CAAj3DjkxVacpejZzYYwUhqSpfeW2pKeN93XrFbMbd8jnVScZug at mail.gmail.com> (It may appear line-wrapped, but as delivered to me it is all on a single line. Also, I emphatically didn't pick this line because it has my name in it alongside the year I started using Linux. :) I'm assuming that this is meant to assist in thread ordering. As such, it should be sufficient and overcome variations in the text of the Subject line. Yet that will depend on the code in everyone's email readers. We should consider the mail archives as well, whether they also use the same algorithms and determinants for organizing threads. As a long time Tbird user, I find that it handles variations in the Subject line quite well: e.g., threading is preserved despite alterations to the Subject line. This is no guarantee regarding other mail readers or archivers. As a test, I appended a couple words to the previous subject line. If this causes this email to show up as the beginning of a new thread to you, please report that back to us along with the email reader and version you're using. (Of course this is far from a rigorous test, but it's the best I can do at the moment.) Thanks, ken -- "When a society comes together and makes decisions in harmony, when it respects its most noble traditions, cares for its most vulnerable members, treats its forests and lands with respect, then it will prosper and not decline." --Buddha, Mahaparinirvana Sutra