Reply subjects can be useful

[Tom G]

Just to note, THIS is not Jive. It's better.

Personal aside, I've never cared much about what most people do normally, but I distinguish when I commonly diverge from that. People will do what they do, but I can share insights.

In Jive forum, repliers to a post do not have the opportunity to edit their reply subject. Replies have no subject, and OP subject holds precedence.
In this forum, repliers can edit their reply subject. Just like emails, it is auto-populated with RE: [Original Subject]. Also just like emails, you can edit this manually.

This means that if replying to a complex subject with a new insight, you can Name this reply. However, another user cannot reply to your reply in a tiered chain, but instead can only reply to the OP.

Although it is generally terrible etiquette, I will reply to my own post here as an example.

[Tom G]

You can also link directly to a reply by clicking or copying the link that exists in the subject of the reply as well as the little page icon below it. It targets a hypertext anchor that brings the page to that location.

[Tom G]

You can also link directly to a reply by clicking or copying the link that exists in the subject of the reply as well as the little page icon below it. It targets a hypertext anchor that brings the page to that location.

Oh, so you can reply to a reply. It's under Reply with Quote button, so that replies to edited subject replies also carry forward the RE: edited subject.
I stand corrected.

Edit: If I didn't want to include the quote, but did want to direct the reply, I can delete the quote string within reply composition.

[Tom G]

But, someone replying to the OP still defaults back to RE: OP Subject

[matt]

Yes, I'm a member of two other forums that use phpbb, and both of them allow the changing of subject in the middle of a thread. The one caveat that you have to watch out for, is that some of the styles/themes don't put the subject at the top of every post, so people using non-standard themes may miss important information if it is in your changed subject line.