Bug#1115727: Bug #1115727: Additional information from fresh Debian 13 GNOME install

[Ernst Lanser]

I would like to add some extra information after further testing.

I can reproduce this behaviour on a completely fresh Debian 13 (Trixie)
GNOME installation, without any third-party themes or user
customisations. The system was set up as follows:

    sudo apt update
    sudo apt install --ignore-missing -y gnome-core geary
    sudo systemctl set-default graphical.target
    sudo reboot

After logging into the clean GNOME session, Geary still shows no
meaningful visual difference between read and unread messages: the
subject lines do not appear noticeably bolder, and there is no clear
indicator that helps distinguish read from unread messages. Changing
fonts or switching GNOME themes does not solve this.

I also attempted to modify Geary’s behaviour through dconf/gsettings,
but the relevant keys no longer affect the conversation list in recent
Geary versions.

As an experiment, I built and installed the Geary version from Debian 12
on the *same* Debian 13 system. With that older version, unread messages
are clearly visible again (bold text stands out correctly and the old
indicators behave as expected). This shows that the fonts on the system
are capable of rendering bold correctly, and that the issue only appears
with the current Geary version on Debian 13, not with the older one on
the exact same setup.

Upstream has closed the GitLab issue as likely a “font configuration
problem”, but because this also occurs on a clean Debian 13 GNOME
installation, it may be worth verifying whether this is:

  - a Debian-specific interaction between Geary 46 and Debian’s 
default
    fontconfig/theme stack, or
  - something that still needs adjustment on the Geary side to ensure
    unread messages remain clearly visible on Debian’s default setup.

At the moment, on stock Debian 13 GNOME, it is very difficult to
distinguish unread from read messages in Geary, which affects the
usability of the client for the entire Trixie release cycle.