On Friday 11 August 2006 09:55, Mike Dewhirst wrote:
1. Thread hijacking is almost universally hated. If you pick a random message, click [Reply] to get a new message addressed to the list then overtype the subject with a new line and delete the content to start a "new" thread you will be a thread hijacker. This awful practice spoils list organisation and also makes it difficult to follow threads in the archives. Such hijacking evil will be forever revealed by Google. Good mail clients are able to keep threads of postings together so they can be read in context. Experienced users exploit this functionality because it makes for efficient use of their time. If you hijack a thread there will be two immediately negative results ...
* your message will appear in the middle of another discussion and will not therefore gain the attention of that portion of list members who are not following that particular thread
* your message will be off-topic in that thread and will therefore annoy that portion of list members who are following that particular thread
2. Thread hijacking is half-way reasonable if you deliberately want to hijack it. This is not done frequently. In such a case you would start a new subject line but retain the original in brackets like this "New topic [was: Old Topic]". Always consider starting a new thread before deliberately hijacking one.
Errrr....I have a confession to make. I've often used this technique to get the email address of the list without ever intending to hijack a thread....I just assumed it would start an entirely new thread. I suspect a great many people would assume the same thing. Can you explain a little more about the mechanism of how this occurs? I'm guessing it's the threading software? Bob.