response

1 files changed, 15 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/doc/bugs/inline_sort_order_and_meta_date_value.mdwn b/doc/bugs/inline_sort_order_and_meta_date_value.mdwn
index ce87f9acb..d851ef397 100644
--- a/doc/bugs/inline_sort_order_and_meta_date_value.mdwn
+++ b/doc/bugs/inline_sort_order_and_meta_date_value.mdwn
@@ -84,3 +84,18 @@ out the sort option. --[[Joey]]
 > 10. ikiwiki --setup setup_file
 > 
 > 11. All pages, including new page, are output correctly in ctime order
+
+You're confusing ctime and creation time. This is perhaps not suprising, as
+ikiwiki uses the term 'ctime' to refer to creation time. However, the unix
+ctime value is not the same thing. Unix ctime can change if a file changes
+owner, or in some cases, permissions. Unix ctime also always changes
+when the file is modified. Ikiwiki wants a first creation date of the file,
+and it accomplishes this by recording the initial ctime of a file the first
+time it processes it, and *preserving* that creation time forever, ignoring
+later ctime changes.
+
+I suspect that this, coupled with the fact that ikiwiki sorts newest pages
+first, explains everything you describe. If not, please send me a shell script
+test case I can run, as instructions like "Create pages that sort different by
+mtime and ctime" are not ones that I know how to follow (given that touch sets
+*both*). --[[Joey]]