Hans Fugal wrote:

> gmail's conversation approach _is_ different. But the idea of 
> collapsing threads isn't - many high-quality MUAs do this or can be 
> configured to do it, e.g. mutt.
>
>> The conversation system is not the same as a threaded view, by the 
>> way.  In the threaded view, you still have to wade through tons of 
>> unwanted/previously-seen material before you get to what you want.  
>
>
> Yes, if you don't collapse the threads. 

Even if you collapse the threads, in the actual thread you're viewing, 
you see a huge jumble of other messages before getting to the one you 
want.  Also, threads are ordered by the time of the first post to the 
thread, so threads receiving new posts don't show up at the top of your 
inbox, which they do in Gmail.

I actually like the linear view because it is sufficient for me to get 
the context of who is responding to whom.  If I ever get confused, I 
expand the suppressed quotes and can quickly figure out what's going 
on.  But to each his own, I guess.  The most annoying thing for me about 
Gmail so far has been its occasional unresponsiveness.  When it works, 
it works really well, IMO.

Carl