318313 - Sorting messages removes thread display

Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 219787

(Thunderbird :: Mail Window Front End, defect)

Description

[ceci.nest.pas.une.adresse]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8) Gecko/20051111 Firefox/1.5
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8) Gecko/20051111 Firefox/1.5

If messages in a viewer window are listed in threads, and I click a column header to sort messages, they are no longer listed in threads.  Problem does not occur when sorting using menus: View->Sort By->[Criterion].  Have not attempted to reproduce with IMAP folders, but problem occurs when viewing any local folder.

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Click on a message folder in the left pane.
2. Select menu item: View->Sort By->Threaded
3. Click on any column header in the message list to sort by that column.
*. Messages should now not be grouped by thread.

Actual Results:  
Messages were not grouped by thread.

Expected Results:  
Clicking on column header [Criterion] should be same result as selecting menu item View->Sort By->[Criterion].

Comment 1

[Mike Cowperthwaite]

The capability is there, but you need to change a hidden preference.  Add this 
line to prefs.js:
  user_pref("mailnews.thread_pane_column_unthreads", false);
(This is easier using version 1.5 or later, which has the "about:config"-style 
preference editor.)

See bug 234690 comment 14.

*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 219787 ***

Comment 2

[ceci.nest.pas.une.adresse]

Shouldn't the default behavior be to maintain the threads?  It seems like doing otherwise is contradicting the user's previously-expressed preference.