164081 - Display watched threads more prominently

Status: NEW

(SeaMonkey :: MailNews: Message Display, enhancement)

Description

[Adam Lock]

Watched threads are denoted by a pair of sunglasses in the icon beside the
thread.  This is subtle and hard to notice when scrolling through a large list.

It would be useful if they were marked in a more obvious way such as by
colouring the subject headers or the background. Perhaps articles in a watched
list could be labelled?

Comment 1

[Sander]

*** Bug 198491 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

Comment 2

[Sander]

Additional suggestion from dupe: put the watched threads on top of the list.

Comment 3

[Kenneth]

I'll cast my vote for this bug.  This has been one of the last few advantages
that Outlook Express holds over mail. Any takers?

Comment 4

[Mike Cowperthwaite]

See Bug 117616 comment 3 for why this is unlikely to be implemented.

This feature is achievable with customization to your userChrome.css file.  I 
have this in mine:

treechildren:-moz-tree-cell-text(news, watch)
/* watched threads */
{
  color: #080 !important;
} 
treechildren:-moz-tree-cell-text(news, watch, selected) 	
/* watched threads, top selected */
{
  color: #0D0 !important;	/* use a brighter green against dark background */
} 

These rules color the topmost item in the watched thread green.

I can't find the source where I got the hints on how to make this customization.

Comment 5

[Kenneth]

I still see this as valid in terms of giving the user a way to more easily find
Watched threads.  It may not be a problem with someone for a razor eye, but
those sunglasses can be difficult to spot if someone is scrolling through a long
list of  topics.  Worst case scenario is that the Watch feature works in
conjunction with Label, and you have a 6th color option to choose a color for a
watched thread.

I've used that bit of CSS before, but what really needs to happen is that the
entire thread should be colored, the header and all messages contained in it. 
It just makes the entire thread more distinguishable for older eyes.

And if everyone is completely committed to using icons to distinguish this
thread, why aren't the icons more prominent?  They could/should have their own
column (which would indeed allow the user to click and watch a message, instead
of hitting the "W" key all of the time, and be in high contrast (according to
themer's discretion) with the rest of the chrome.

Comment 6

[Stewart Gordon]

The glasses can indeed be difficult to spot.  They can even be impossible to spot, if any 
of the dependencies of bug 191298 has bitten.

Comment 7

[Mike Cowperthwaite]

Thinking more about this, I like very much the suggestion in the original
report: provide a preference for news:
  [] Label messages in watched threads as [Important]   (<- dropdown)

This way, nothing special is done for coloring watched threads, but the
coloration is achievable in a way compatible with the reason stated for not
doing this in Bug 117616 comment 3.

Comment 8

[MrJeff]

*** Bug 208564 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

Comment 9

[Ashar Voultoiz]

It would be great to highlight the newsgroup wich contain unread watched
message. This way when you have say 35 newsgroup, you easily find which one need
to be read.

Comment 10

[Mike Cowperthwaite]

(In reply to comment #9)
> It would be great to highlight the newsgroup wich contain unread watched
> message. This way when you have say 35 newsgroup, you easily find which one
> need to be read.

Bug 127692.

Comment 11

[Thomas Miller]

Add a filter for watched lists through the "View" drop down list box.  I would prefer that you don't lable them as important, as this would be confusing for the beginner.  Just add a new option!!!

Comment 12

[Mike Cowperthwaite]

(In reply to comment #11)
> Add a filter for watched lists through the "View" drop down list box.  I would
> prefer that you don't lable them as important, as this would be confusing for
> the beginner.  Just add a new option!!!

Different problem: bug 207862 (depending on bug 197620 and bug 218208).
See also bug 73562.