Re: Changing the subject

[Yann Hodique <yann.hodique@gmail.com>]

>>>>> "David" == David Kastrup <dak@gnu.org> writes:

>> I'm not sure why Glenn left, but here's an example of what some of us are
>> referring to: In the "IDE" discussion that took place a while back, I was
>> actively engaged in discussing ideas with several individuals. Meanwhile, a
>> sub-thread began (without changing the subject) that starting talking solely
>> about CEDET development. That sub-thread is still ongoing to this day.
>> 
>> Because of that sub-thread, it was necessary to scan every message just to
>> determine which messages titled "IDE" were part of the discussion I was
>> having, and which titled "IDE" had nothing to do with it.

> It's probably worth pointing out to users of Gnus to use

> C-c C-f s runs the command message-change-subject (found in
> message-mode-map), which is an interactive compiled Lisp function in
> ‘message.el’.

> It is bound to C-c C-f s, <menu-bar> <Field> <Change subject...>.

> (message-change-subject NEW-SUBJECT)

> Ask for NEW-SUBJECT header, append (was: <Old Subject>).

> [back]

> when composing a reply/followup to a thread that has actually changed
> subject.  And do this early enough exactly in order to keep topics
> separate.  If somebody else tried changing the subject line already
> (with the same overall topic), try choosing the same changed subject.

It's probably also worth mentioning that Gnus users have the option to
use scores to identify (un)important messages, and that scoring on
message-id ("L i e p" for example) effectively translates into scoring
on sub-thread as long as nobody messes with the References field (which
thankfully happens to be fairly rare around here).

All this to say that while changing subject is certainly good practice,
relying on it might be a little optimistic, and there are other ways to
handle the issue that are more under the control of the person who
actually wants to filter stuff out.

Yann.

-- 
All states are abstractions.

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