43013 - "Download Headers" dialog has wrong defaults

Status: VERIFIED WONTFIX

(SeaMonkey :: MailNews: Message Display, defect, P3)

Description

[Henrik Gemal]

In the "Download Headers" dialog the "Mark remaining..." checkbox should be on 
per default.

It's in the downloadheaders.js where it says:
markreadElement.checked = nntpServer.markOldRead;

"nntpServer.markOldRead" is always false to my knowledge. At least it's not 
represented in the prefs.

Perhaps it's missing in the globals prefs...?

Comment 1

[scottputterman]

Reassiging to sspitzer.

Why should it be on by default? Is it the most common action?  

Comment 2

[laurel]

FYI, just for reference... 4.x didn't have mark remaiming headers read on by
default.

Comment 3

[Matthew T (active 1999-2002)]

Nah. To have this pref on by default is dataloss -- minor, but dataloss all the 
same, because the record of what the user hasn't read will be permanently lost. 
The user should have to explicitly tell Mozilla that she won't ever want to read 
the other messages in the group.

Comment 4

[laurel]

Matthew Thomas:  This is not data loss.  The user may download the headers
through Get Next N Messages.  Even though the headers have been marked read and
will have "read" status when retrieved, the user can still download them and
look at the messages.

Comment 5

[(not reading, please use [e-mail] instead)]

this pref is false by default, just like in 4.x as laurel pointed out.

if the user changes the value in the download headers dialog, that change is
remembered.  (it's a per server pref.)

note:  we do migrate this pref, so if the user had "news.mark_old_read" set to
true in 4.x, all the migrated news servers would have the
"mail.server.<servern>.mark_old_read" pref set to true.

marking wontfix, as we want the default value for this pref to be the same as
4.x.

otherwise, people who migrate from 4.x will have the behaviour changed on them.

Comment 6

[rhp (gone)]

Yes, we do the exact same thing as 4.x does which is our preferred behavior for 
this stuff.

- rhp