There are youtube videos of idiots changing the oil filter cartridge and putting the spring in the wrong place. I wondered what the effect would be. I looked at the oil filter bolt, and cut up an old oil filter to try and understand where the oil flowed.
Here are some pics of how oil would flow with the spring in the proper place, when the oil is cold, and when the oil is warmed and thin.
However, I can't figure what happens if the spring is put in the wrong place. It looks like no oil can get into the filter or to the pressure relief valve until it is warm, and then it filters normally. Perhaps the pressure relief valve in the pump releases pressure.