On 23 Aug 2011, at 16:51, Alex Hall wrote: > The problem with doing that is that you then take away any references > made in the reply. For instance, if a responder says, "So how, > exactly, would you do that?" I have no idea what they mean if the > original message is gone. Having the reference of the original is > often helpful and sometimes quite important, plus it lets you read > through a thread you may have missed or to get clarification on a > point.
Take what you wrote for an example. Only the last sentence gives any idea of what you're talking about. There are two solutions, neither as anti-social as top-posting: 1. Paraphrase. Simply say what you're replying to when replying. For instance: In response to Bob's question about how often to feed gremlins, my advice is thrice daily, plus special meals at full moons. You can never be too careful. 2. Top post, as I have done. For this to work most effectively, everybody has to do it, as just shown. You can read nested quotations, top to bottom, and thus get the natural flow of conversation that bottom-posting does not provide. This not only helps digesters, it also makes reading archived messages easier. Trim everything you can that isn't relevant to your reply. I appreciate that FleaMail (trying to mimic Microsoft's rubbish software, which is just as bad) does not make this easy, but do your best, or not at all. For example: Bob writes: > So what tips do you have on the best times to feed gremlins? My advice is thrice daily, plus special meals at full moons. You can never bee too careful. Cheers. And the follow-up from Jane replying to this message: You wrote: > Bob writes: >> So what tips do you have on the best times to feed gremlins? > > My advice is thrice daily, plus special meals at full moons. You can never > bee too careful. Cheers. > They need more than that! If I don't feed my gremlins at least five times a day, they go after my cats! -- Jane. The best Mailman can do is reject or hold over-quoted postings. I doubt very much whether HumanWare would consider it. Cheers, Sabahattin ___ Replies to this message will go directly to the sender. If your reply would be useful to the list, please send a copy to the list as well. To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to [email protected] To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit http://list.humanware.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote
