I know the horse is dead, but I still want to get a couple of hits in. I've been using the usenet/internet since the early 90s, and I've had my share of newsreaders, mailclients, etc. I've been active on the web with my own sites since 94/95.
Yet... Gasp!... I PREFER TOP-POSTING (and I will continue to do so). To address the points brought up on the page you linked: 1. Just because something is proper (n)etiquette doesn't make it any better. You're supposed to drink white wine with poultry, but I still prefer a coke with my Chicken McNuggets. 2. What makes Forte Agent a "good newsreader"? Would that be opinion, or independently researched and verified fact. I remember using Forte (Free)Agent back in 95 or 96, and it was a crappy application that would crash at least once which each session. That aside, I don't use signatures -- they're a waste of bandwidth. 3. Top-Posting only makes posts incomprehensible to those readers with short attention span and/or Alzheimer's. I usually follow my mailing lists, and if I'm reading a reply that I don't understand, I quickly scroll down the preferably top-posted message and read the context. 4. Server space being oh-so-expensive these days, that's a big concern. Not. But I do agree that people should at least zap the other posters' signatures (or maybe they shouldn't be included in the first place?) and the list-signature. 5. Hmm.. Top-posting makes bottom-posting harder? Then don't bottom-post! Bottom-posting makes READING a mailing list more difficult than it needs to be, and with ONE person posting and 8,000-10,000 people READING the messages, that should be the main concern. 6. Or if you like, you can drop your "good newsreader" and start conforming to the MS world. I don't think the preferences of some should dictate the software choice of the majority. I'm not saying I love Outlook, but it's served me more-or-less well for 7 or 8 years. I can not afford to drop it and lose years worth of correspondence. I also won't run a secondary mail-reader just to participate in discussions about netiquette. 7. Same pointless reasoning as in point 3. If you have SOME semblence of short- or mid-term memory, you'll pick up right where you left of. No scrolling required, unless you completely forgot everything you read in the last 6-12 hours. I only read about 1/2 the messages in the asterisk list by subject (why read about PRI when only have SIP and POTS?), and of the discussions that I follow, I have to scroll down only one in every ten -- and most of those are the bottom-posted ones. 8. Oooh, now I'm scared -- flames. Way to ignore completely what I might have to contribute because I "post incorrectly". And Jesus was ostracized because He healed on the Sabbath. Well, I think I explained my preference for top-posting well enough. My asterisk-messages all go into the same folder in my OUTLOOK mail reader, and the top 1/3 of the screen holds a message list, while the bottom 2/3 have a message preview. I can click through messages one-by-one, and usually only need to pick up the mouse when someone decided to bottom-post. Most of the time, I skip those messages. I know I won't -- and don't care to -- persuade those who have been told for years they should bottom-post. Heck, maybe you even have valid reasons (which I haven't seen yet). And maybe you look at my list of reasons they same way I look at yours: with complete and utter perplexion. So, maybe we can just agree to disagree. (PS: You're welcome for not having to scroll to the bottom to start reading this message :) -----Original Message----- From: Nicholas Bachmann [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, June 16, 2004 8:13 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Asterisk-Users] Asterisk-Users List Etiquette Holger Schurig wrote: >>Before hanging up, there should be an extension reminding everyone >>that top posting is super duper wrong and oh so annoying. >> >> > >Must I use the Wiki or Google to find out what "top posting" is? :-) > > You might try reading http://www.caliburn.nl/topposting.html -- it explains why people don't like top posting. Nick _______________________________________________ Asterisk-Users mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
