What's the difference between "last session" and "previous session"? In german it is "letzte Session" and "vorige Session" ... Sounds to be quite the same, but obviously it ain't ... "Last session" is not mentioned in the menu, but "previous session" is ... What's the difference, and what is what?

Btw: what the hell is that: The data that you have submitted to the server have been rejected, because it looks like they were posted by an automated bot. It seems to happen when the first part of the text is the same sentence as the title is.

Let's take your questions in reverse order.

The message is one of several that might be displayed if the forum code thinks you are a machine code instead of a real person or if your post violates some other check. It is not directed at you, but is just trying to keep the forum safe and clean of spam.

The last session is ( and I hope that I am right ) the session that was running when KM was last quit. If you quit KM correctly, it will become the previous session when you restart. However if something went wrong and KM could not shut down correctly, you will get a message upon restarting KM asking if you want to try to use the 'last' session. If you answer yes, KM will start with the last session.

This is set in motion by the pref "kmeleon.plugins.sessions.cleanShutdown". This is set to false when KM has a good start and reset to true when KM quits. If KM stopped without quitting the pref remains false, This is how KM knows if you had a clean shutdow.

Yep it's crash related. Have no experience with newer KM-version, but probably not much different to 1.6, which I know well:

The previous and last sessions have always existed. Only in the old versions the "last" one was hidden from the users, and after a crash was deleted automatically at next browser start, when that crash pref had not been toggled back at a normal shutdown.
After a crash, you only had the choice to restore as "previous" = "the last normally closed" session. If you wanted the real previous session, the crashed one, it was lost!

So it's a good thing that now also crashed sessions can be restored.
But it sure could use a less confusing name Or a little "Help" info in the sessions menu...

Awhile ago someone had explained the "last" is actually the "current" session, that hits it exactly - technically. It's true, the current session is continually saved as "last" session. Until next browser start when it's renamed to "previous", and a new "last" one started. One could also reason that after a crash, basically the "interrupted current" session can be continued.

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JamesD
... or if your post violates some other check. It is not directed at you, but is just trying to keep the forum safe and clean of spam.

Thanks; that got clear as I was aware that I just copied the entire title as first sentence. Isn't it possible to include a hint in the warning message that the first sentence of the main text are not allowed to be the same or (something like that)? Or offer a hint or link to the help file where is described when that situation might occur?

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JamesD
This is set in motion by the pref "kmeleon.plugins.sessions.cleanShutdown". This is set to false when KM has a good start and reset to true when KM quits. If KM stopped without quitting the pref remains false, This is how KM knows if you had a clean shutdow.

Thanks; I'll have a detailed look at that ...

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JamesD
The last session is the session that was running when KM was last quit. If you quit KM correctly, it will become the previous session when you restart.

Thanks; that's clarified so far ...

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JamesD
However if something went wrong and KM could not shut down correctly, you will get a message upon restarting KM asking if you want to try to use the 'last' session. If you answer yes, KM will start with the last session.

What happens if you first say no? Are you then asked as second question if you want to open the previous session? Sorry that I ask that; I never did so far.

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siria
But it sure could use a less confusing name Or a little "Help" info in the sessions menu...

I'd really suggest a less confusing name! As I just was thinking it could be the other way round; that the "last" session would be the "last official (correctly closed)" session, and the previous session that one that really was open before (correctly or crashed) closing of the program.

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siria
Awhile ago someone had explained the "last" is actually the "current" session, that hits it exactly - technically. It's true, the current session is continually saved as "last" session. Until next browser start when it's renamed to "previous", and a new "last" one started. One could also reason that after a crash, basically the "interrupted current" session can be continued.

Hmm ... it should not be named "last"; as I consider "last" to be more "last correctly closed" session than "previous running session" (that was active before quitting or crashing the prog). Computing terminology sometimes really can be confusing ...

There are several possibilities to name these two sessions; and I fear that one single word might be confusing. Maybe "uncrashed session" and "interrupted session" might do it, but even that might sound strange and be a bit confusing; "last correctly closed session" would be better but seem quite strange for a user (almost) that never sees crashing the program ...

It might be best to open an official discussion how these two sessions could be named best for future realeases ...