[nzlug] Thread Highjack??

[Jim Cheetham]

On 25/05/07, Thread Pixie <kmw1 at free.net.nz> wrote:
> eg. when someone replies to *later* to an *earlier* message - a crude
> subject-only threaded display will place this message at the end of the
> thread - that's OK, but it fails to convey the context of the message.
> What if they write "I agree" and fail to quote exactly what they are
> agreeing to?  Then they appear to be saying "I agree" to whatever
> message appears immediately before them.  With a display threaded by
> message-id, you know which message they are agreeing with.
>
> (OK, I know that that is a somewhat contrived example, but I think it

It's not a contrived example. It's every-day reality for people who
use web-based forums - phpbb-derived, TradeMe, blog comments,  things
like that.

For many people, these forums are their first and quite possibly only
introduction to person-to-group interactions. These forums are full of
messages saying "poster #5, I agree with you but #17 said ...."

So now we have gmail working the same way - by subject line. I suspect
that it sub-groups by message-ID, but I don't see hijacked threads, I
just see new "conversations" ... perhaps a decent compromise.