Hi Allie, On Sat, 3 Aug 2002, at 22:26:25 [GMT -0500] (04:26 where I live) you wrote:
ACM> I don't see the difference in the amount of clairvoyance required for ACM> either forms of quoting. ACM> Please note that you're a member of a moderated discussion list with ACM> rules based on what makes most of the membership comfortable with ACM> posts and their content. One of them is formatting. We don't encourage ACM> top or bottom replying here since most here do not like it. You should ACM> post in a format that most of your recipients will prefer. >From http://www.river.com/users/share/etiquette/ Post In-line for Context (up to table of contents) When you quote, you're doing it to provide context. Requiring your readers to scroll down and then back, repeatedly (as they attempt to figure out what the heck you're talking about), is a rather difficult way for you to make the context available. Providing the context up-front will get you better results. It is far easier for your recipients to follow the ongoing conversation in a message that uses quotes in-line like this: > Quote (pruned properly) Your response > Quote of another point (pruned properly) Your response to the second point than it is for your readers to follow along if you use top-posting like this (thanks to Adam Brower by way of Patricia Shaffer): Oh! Now it makes sense to me. Okay! No more top-posting for me! > It's annoying because it reverses the normal > order of conversation. In fact, many people > ignore top-posted messages. > > What's so wrong with that? > > > That's posting your response before > > > the message you're quoting. > > > > People keep bugging me about > > > > "top-posting." What does that mean? or as in this touching example (from Clifton Sharp): "I'll see you at Linda's wedding." "Well, see ya soon." "Congratulations!" "Ten thousand a year." "How much?" "Got a really big raise this time." "Sorry to hear it. How's the job?" "She's not feeling well. Flu, I think." "Same as ever. How's yours?" "How's your wife?" "They painted her purple. They should call her the Prune Fart now." "Good. Did you hear what Martin and Sheila did to the Sea Breeze?" "Good, and you?" "Bill! How the heck are you?" Top-posting makes your message incomprehensible to many of your readers. In normal conversation, after all, you don't answer to something that has not yet been said. Replying at the top confuses your readers, making any point you're trying to get across very unclear without them scrolling down and back repeatedly, searching to re-integrate context. That extra, wholly unnecessary work leads to reader irritation, or worse, to readers just not bothering with your words at all. Since your object is to get your message across, help your readers follow by placing your words in context, not prior to the context. Doing otherwise, forcing your readers to go to extra work unnecessarily, is usually considered insulting. Delivering your words in an insulting manner certainly doesn't help your case. Instead, post in-line to preserve context and respect your readers. -- 04 August 2002, 04:35 [ Adam Rykala : [EMAIL PROTECTED] ] [ [new-wales] project : www.new-wales.net ] [ Public key : [EMAIL PROTECTED] ] Absence makes the heart grow fungus. All messages both into and out of this account have been scanned with AntiVir's Antivirus Mail Gateway for Linux. However, all attachments should be scanned also with a virus checker at the receiver's end to ensure that the files are clean and free of virus infection. All messages are for the attention of the recipient only. ________________________________________________________ Current Ver: 1.61 FAQ : http://faq.thebat.dutaint.com Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archives : http://tbudl.thebat.dutaint.com Moderators : mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] TBTech List: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Bug Reports: https://www.ritlabs.com/bt/
