Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!looking!brad
From: brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton)
Newsgroups: news.software.b
Subject: Re: Some possible fixes for the references line
Keywords: reference
Message-ID: <3325@looking.UUCP>
Date: 17 May 89 05:49:48 GMT
References: <3222@looking.UUCP> <3243@looking.UUCP> <283@xdos.UUCP> <1937@yunexus.UUCP>
Reply-To: brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton)
Organization: Looking Glass Software Ltd.
Lines: 21

Yes, clearly you want to keep as much of the References line as possible,
but it is noted that in a long back-and-forth discussion, this can easily
get huge.

It was thus put into the standard that sites could edit the line as
required.

I suggested that this not be so broad, and that it say that at the
very least the root and immediate parent be kept.

I have been making the further suggestion that we find some way of
spotting sub-root articles (where the topic changes a bit) and asking
that they be kept, if possible.

Unless we require the whole line, which I doubt we can do, you won't
be able to sort articles based on it if the chain gets too long.
The posting date can still be used.   If the <D> convention gets used
to mark deleted items,  (perhaps <Dnn> where nn is the number deleted)
then you will be able to sort on the References line, _most_ of the time.
-- 
Brad Templeton, Looking Glass Software Ltd.  --  Waterloo, Ontario 519/884-7473