* Thus wrote Octavian Rasnita:
> Hi,
> 
> I have a very strong reason for top posting and a very strong one for not
> agreeing too much bottom posting at all, and this is the fact that I am
> blind and if I need to read a bottom post, I need to read again and again
> the whole original message, even though most of the time I remember what was
> it about, and I don't like to lose so much time to read it again so many
> times.

If your eyesite isn't that good, it might be wise to use a email
client that is more friendly, like a mail client that highlights in
differnent colors the quoted text vs the orginal text.

 
> I have read somewhere a Netiquette rule that advice top posting (I don't
> remember where, but could be on W3C site...) and the reasons for that rule
> were that:
> 
> 1. Most of the times, the members of the list remember the subject of the
> [...]
>
> 2. People with dissabiliteies, that access the computer reading line by
> [...]
>
> 3. Top posting is much easier to be done for most of the members of a list,
> because they don't have to trim the original message very selective, but
> [...]

The only valid reason to top-post is to provide to the reader the
response without having to scroll, but why this is bad (tm) will be
argued later on in my reply.


> [...]
> 
> If I answer something like:
> 
> "Your problem can be solved by using the following code: ..."
> 
> Most of the users won't understand what problem was that answer for, because
> on the lists we use to talk about problems all the time.
> 
> But if I answer something like:
> 
> "If you want to create a program for downloading and parsing a file, use the
> following code:..."

This is a rather unfair argument, the first example should read
more like:

  * Somebody wrote:
  > How do I create a program for downloading and parsing a file??

  With a program like this: ...


> 
> Then I think that everyone will understand what is my answer for, and they
> don't need to read again the original message, because they even might
> remember that message.

So If I had top posted, and you dont remember what exactly why I
would be writing the paragraph, you would have to scroll down 4
pages and re-read/find out what context I am writing this paragraph for.


I can't find much info on why top-posting is good, but I did find
lots that suggested top-posting isn't well accepted, it stems
mostly from usenet behaviours:

http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc1855.html
http://www.caliburn.nl/topposting.html
http://www.netmeister.org/news/learn2quote2.html
http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/usenet/brox.html
http://www.caliburn.nl/topposting.html


Curt
-- 
The above comments may offend you. flame at will.

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