This is a minor problem in the overall scheme of things but I have noticed it occurring with greater frequency lately.
It appears that sometimes members of a discussion list will initiate a new topic by simply replying to a recent posting and changing the 'Subject:' line. This is a handy shortcut to avoid entering a 'To:' line. Unfortunately for those of us who get and archive massive amounts of discussion list postings, this "reply" will appear to be a strand of the original discussion thread, despite the different 'Subject:' line. And that totally screws up the poor topic threader on mail clients sophisticated enough to have one. The result is that such topic threads are now totally invisible when viewed in a threaded mail reader or file manager. And yes, I know that listserver archives are available but I do a lot of my work with custom Rexx tools on a local archive, or while offline. (Right now, I'm in a camper outside of a helicopter factory in rural north Florida. Dial-up's what I got, wi-fi's merely a dream.) I suspect most folks are unaware of this issue. It really should be added to the listserver netiquette guide along with "trim your quotes", "avoid long siglines", and "never annoy Chuckie" (I'm sure that one's in there; if not it should be added too. :-) Thanks for your cooperations, and we now return you to your regularly scheduled discussion. -Chip Davis-
