Re: Sorting threads after gathering threads

[Michael Welsh Duggan]

Emanuel Berg <embe8573@student.uu.se> writes:

> Michael Welsh Duggan <mwd@md5i.com> writes:
>
>> The important part here is that these are not real
>> threads. They are individual messages with enough
>> similarities that threading can be simulated. In Gnus
>> parlance, they are "loose threads," and are put
>> together during "thread gathering." Unfortunately, it
>> seems like thread gathering happens after thread
>> sorting, for some unknown reason.
>
> What does the distinction loose or real thread matter?
> Why can't you have them all grouped by subject and then
> sorted by number (or date) within each group?

You seem to be missing my point.  There are no threads to start -- or
rather, every message is its own thread.  Then they get sorted by the
`gnus-thread-sort-functions'.  Then the remaining threads (all
individual messages still) are gathered as loose threads into real
threads.  Then the messages are sorted within each gathered thread.  But
the threads are no longer properly sorted with respect to each other,
since the sorting was done before the gathering.  See
`gnus-summary-prepare':

    ;; Generate the buffer, either with threads or without.
    (when gnus-newsgroup-headers
      (gnus-summary-prepare-threads
       (if gnus-show-threads
           (gnus-sort-gathered-threads
            (funcall gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
                     (gnus-sort-threads
                      (gnus-cut-threads (gnus-make-threads)))))
         ;; Unthreaded display.
         (gnus-sort-articles gnus-newsgroup-headers))))

I am wondering why the sorting (of threads) happens before the gathering
into threads.

-- 
Michael Welsh Duggan
(md5i@md5i.com)