[ale] OT: top-posting

Pat Regan thehead at patshead.com
Wed Jan 7 15:02:47 EST 2009


Dan Lambert wrote:
> Contrary to what some believe, the internet is not the exclusive
> property of the technically endowed. There are more of those "clueless
> people" out there (by an order of magnitude, or more) than there are
> techies and geeks. Whether each of us likes it or not, we are outnumbered.
> 

Everything depends on context.  For instance, if someone is on a mailing
list looking for help they'll get more flies with honey than vinegar*.

I can't speak for everyone, but if a thread gets all mucked up with a
mix of top, bottom, and middle posting it gets harder for me to follow.
 If it is hard for me to follow, I'm much less likely to add my two cents.

The problem isn't really the mixing of styles.  The problem is usually
failing to trim out the cruft.

> I spend 95% of my time on a computer dealing with people in a business
> environment, and this is the ONLY mailing list that anyone bottom posts
> on. I frankly am not going to waste my energy to change my whole thought
> pattern and habit to post on one list. Sorry.

I didn't read the link to the explanation of why one posting method is
better than another.  All I know is back in the old days, this message I
am writing now would absolutely be considered bottom posting.  There are
plenty of new descriptive names to differentiate this email from a post
that does nothing but put the reply underneath.

Putting the full reply underneath a long quote is certainly not the
opposite of top posting.  It is much more evil :).  The only thing evil
about top posting is that it isn't always obvious which points are being
addressed.

Pat

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