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Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!rutgers!ames!hc!beta!cmcl2!philabs!tg!dasys1!rsweeney
From: rsweeney@dasys1.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sources.d,news.misc,news.admin
Subject: Re: Wish list
Message-ID: <419@dasys1.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 18-May-87 04:26:51 EDT
Article-I.D.: dasys1.419
Posted: Mon May 18 04:26:51 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 21-May-87 06:55:07 EDT
References: <969@bobkat.UUCP>
Reply-To: rsweeney@dasys1.UUCP (Robert Sweeney)
Distribution: world
Organization: Datamerica Systems, NYC
Lines: 33
Xref: utgpu comp.sources.d:666 news.misc:372 news.admin:403

In article <969@bobkat.UUCP> pedz@bobkat.UUCP (Pedz Thing) writes:
>On a different subject and not related to sources is my wish for
>everyone who responds to an article to post it as a response, do not
>change the title, and keep all of the appropriate info in the header
>to make it look like a response.  Frequently I have to resort to the
>kill file technique just to get around something that the k key could
>and should solve if everyone cooperated.  Do not think that your two
>cents on a subject is completely revolutionary and requires a whole
>new base article even if the subject has drifted off the original
>topic.
>Perry Smith a.k.a. (Pedz Thing)

Something like this would please me in particular.  I'm trying to come
up with a decent way to handle message threading in a conferencing
system I'm developing, and something like this would make my task
extremely simple.  On most traditional-format BBS systems, the subject
line is not edit-able, which means that a thread could logically be
developed simply by linking together messages with the same subject.
Since subject lines in netnews articles can be edited, this capability
is impossible.

How about introducing an item into the message header called a conversation
code (or something to that effect).  It need not be displayed when you read
the message - it's for "internal use only."  A code is generated when a
message is posted that does not refer in any way to a previous message.
All subsequent followups and such are given the same conversation code. The
"k" and associated commands would seek out and junk articles bearing the
same code, rather than using the unreliable subject field.

-- 
Robert Sweeney   ..!cmcl2!phri!dasys1!rsweeney
Big Electric Cat Public Access Unix - System Operator
Line noise can kill.