Re: Last Call: draft-ietf-imapext-sort (INTERNET MESSAGE ACCESS PROTOCOL - SORT AND THREAD EXTENSIONS) to Proposed Standard

On Sat, 2008-02-23 at 22:41 +0200, Timo Sirainen wrote:
> This is how all servers seem to implement it, except Dovecot. I
> originally understood the text to mean:
> 
> if not is_a_loop(msg, new_parent)
>   if msg->parent != NULL
>     unlink(msg)
>   link(msg, new_parent)

"break the current parent/child link before creating the new correct
one."

What exactly does "before" mean? It's normally used when assuming that
the rest of the sentence happens, like "take out the trash before going
to school". What does it mean if it doesn't happen? If I don't go to
school after all, do I still take out the trash? Or "remove the plastic
before eating" - do I remove the plastic if I don't eat it? If I don't
"create the new correct link" because it would loop, do I still "break
the current parent/child link"? I don't think there's one correct way to
read the sentence.