Rick Brashear wrote:
Thanks, Paul, I agree. I've been more guilty than most of just
leaving the previous text so others might easily follow the thread.
However, you're right, a complete sentence at the beginning of the
post would serve the same purpose and save a lot of clutter and, I
suppose, bandwidth. Just as the old way of AM is the right way, so is
this.
I am just not in complete agreement with that, Rick (and everyone).
Here's what I wrote Paul, when I got his reply to my reply to his
"you're busted" message. Maybe this can illuminate the subject, and why
it's done.
At least, this is what I've experienced in the last 2+ decades of
electronic communication.
_________________________________________
VJB wrote:
VJB> Posting habits elude me, Geoff, because I don't subscribe to any
lists beyond the AM Reflector.
OMR> Well, if you'll allow me this lattitude; I've been involved in
electronic communication since 1986, thanks to John/WA5BXO. There is a
precedent. I'm following it. History prevails. Just as operating Ham
Radio in the AM mode, in modern times.
VJB> Nor do I agree that the only way to preserve the context of an
answer (yours or anyone else's) is to use the technique of including
previous text.
> That's a word-processor thing, relatively recent.
OMR> No, sir. Not in anyway recent. Modem controlled Landline bulletin
board systems (BBS's) have been around for a long time. I owned and
operated the 'Electronic Avenue BBS' before Montgomery Wards stores came
out with their 'Electric Avenue' advertising. The actual time on-line
was from 1987 to 1999. It was understood in the BBS community, that the
way to respond/reply to electronic messages (back when we were paying
for long distance charges, to get them from point-to-point) was to trim
the previous message, quote what was relevant, add your verbage, and
keep signatures to a minimum (2 lines max)
Think of it as the flow of an electronic 'conversation', that everyone
read, when they dialed up and went on-line, point-to-point over a POTS line.
Landline telephone BBS's have been around since the 300baud modem.
That's when I started. Then 1200, 2400, 9600, 14.4k, 19.2k, 33.6k, and
the current 56k (which is a mis-nomer, since the speed is actually
57.6kbps, but the FCC 'speed-limit' for digital over copper lines is/was
56kb.)
Somewhere in there, around the 1200baud days, a 'Network' sprang up,
called "FidoNet" (there were actually several, but Fido was the first).
There were as many different topics of interest, just like there are as
many newsgroups as you can possibly imagine. Each message area that was
shared on the network, was called an 'echo', because the messages echoed
through the network, each sent in their entirety. Remember I said we
were paying for long distance? This pre-dates the public's use of
what's now known as the 'internet'. (As an aside, I had an email account
in 1991, using tcp/ip over ax.25 packet). We were paying money to move
these packets of data over the phone lines.. It quickly became a rule
that you didn't 'top-post' your reply message, the reply you did send
had you comments interspersed throughout the relavant quoted parts of
the message, and you did -not- quote the entire message, nor include the
origin-line of the BBS where the message originated.
For a couple of years, I was the Moderator of the HAM Radio echo. I
wasn't popular, but I was doing the job that someone asked me to do.
VJB> Tnx again for trying to help us tidy up the traffic flow. It's a
request, not a rule.
OMR> When you're in a QSO, Paul... do you keep notes so you can comment
on what was said when it's your time to transmit? Think of my method of
replying, as keeping notes and making comments without static crashes or
interferring carriers, or some side-band squawk covering up important
details.
A Message area can be considered a big round-table. Everyone might be
typing at the same time, but messages are read one-at-a-time.
You can also rest-assured that I'm not 'twisting' your words. The way I
see it is, quoting relavant text keeps everyone more honest. After more
than a decade in the BBS world, trust me, I've learned to keep logs of
everything, because I've been accused of lying so many times... and the
recorded logged info always has spoken for itself..
___________________________________________________
What I'm trying to point out is, how quoting the relavant text, and
interspersing your reply comments make for cohesive and logically
flowing conversation.
--
Driving your AM Rig without a scope, is like driving your car at night,
without headlights.
(K4KYV)
--
73 = Best Regards,
-Geoff/W5OMR
