{
"name": "invalid-threading-headers-allow-subject-fallback",
"description": "Malformed threading headers do not block subject fallback.",
"spec": {
"source": "RFC 5256",
"url": "https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc5256",
"behavior": "invalid References are ignored before subject fallback considers whether a thread is header-backed"
},
"input": [
{
"id": "root",
"message_id": "<subject-root@example>",
"in_reply_to": null,
"references": [],
"subject": "Broken Headers",
"date": "2026-05-15T09:00:00Z"
},
{
"id": "malformed-reply",
"message_id": "<malformed-reply@example>",
"in_reply_to": "not-a-message-id",
"references": [
"also-not-a-message-id"
],
"subject": "Re: Broken Headers",
"date": "2026-05-15T09:05:00Z"
}
],
"expected": {
"threads": [
{
"root": "root",
"messages": [
"root",
"malformed-reply"
]
}
]
}
}