If your reader is like mine, it lists threads (as opposed to messages) by
"collapsing" the listing. So you'll see the "top" message for each tree
of replies.

Exactly.

Hmm. You may see the replies to the first [read] message separately.

Exactly. So now I have three trees under:

bugs in...
GPS bugs...
OT...

where ideally there'd just be one listing, under
OT...
where all the other OT posts, threads, or trees would be sorted

That is,
there's no way to display the fact that two replies to the same [read]
message are in the same thread because there's no visible construct under
which both messages can be placed.

Is that the problem you're describing?

Yes, that is one aspect of it.

If so, all you need is a reader that actually displays thread tops
rather than the top message in the thread.

What if the thread top is six months old?

My reader (pan) doesn't do this. I'd never noticed this before.

Go back and see if, for an OT thread with the colon (for example, the
one about Electric cars), you see separate trees, one that starts with
OT and another that starts with Electric.

Trying [show read messages too], I don't particularly like it

Neither do I. It's clumsier than simply putting up with the defeat of
the OT prepend.

Umm...I've tried using this [same thing] for a bit, and now I'm not so sure.
I rather like being "in a thread" rather than reading messages.

Yes, that part is nice. But sorting trees by subject line is
problematic, and that's how I'd like to sort them.

Jose
--
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