On 29 Sep 2014, at 22:48, Bas Van Klinkenberg wrote:

Just wanted to let you know that since version 2.0-alpha.9567 the ‘File' -> 'Open Recent...' list has become pretty useless because it now keeps track of each and every file you open inside a project directory […]

Are you referring to this change as the regression:

• Files opened via mate are now added to the recent menu by default unless the file is a dot-file (hidden), --wait or --no-recent is specified, or the file is in the system’s temporary folder. Also cleaned up the command options a bit, e.g. --async is now --no-wait, run mate -h for more info.

Due to this older items (other projects I worked on yesterday for example) drop off the list very fast

There is a special action for recent “projects” accessible as the misnamed Open → Favorites… (⇧⌘O).