This has been an interesting, if slightly OT, discussion. I believe it should, if necessary, continue. As ListMom Dan has stated: "Discussion of things like posting etiquette, blogging, and even language are acceptable as long as they are related to our use of Macs (or Lisas, Newtons, Apple IIs on those lists) or our participation in the list. If they go beyond that scope, the nannies will generally step in, label them officially off topic, and ask for an end to discussion."
I'm not sure top/bottom posting is of major concern if: 1.) You snip the extraneous headers and footers, and 2.) You snip the extraneous verbiage - [usually replacing several lines with "(snip)".] When people don't, then top posting is a lot more efficient for those of us (like listnannies) who have to sift through many messages. I did look up Dan's discussion: About Top vs Bottom Posting, at 18:42pm -0500 on 11/13/02, Dan Knight stated: -> One of my pet peeves -- and something a lot of you have probably received -> a note about -- is people who quote the entire original message right -> down through the footer. The header. The ads. Everything. -> -> I go through each digest, scrolling past screen after screen of quoted -> material. It's too much. It's unnecessary. It's poor netiquette. And it -> violates list guidelines, which ask that you quote selectively in your -> replies. -> -> We had a lengthy and heated discussion of this and replying netiquette on -> the iMac list. After reading it all, I did some statistical analysis, put -> down my foot, and created a new rule for the lists. Well, guideline, if -> you want to be precise. -> -> -> --> Bottom Posting -> -> I learned how to reply when I joined an email list and saw how others did -> it. They would quote the line or paragraph they were replying to and -> follow it with their response. It looks like a dialog -- he said, she -> said. -> -> The beauty of this method is that even if you never read the original -> message (say you just subscribed), the quoted portions provide enough -> information that you know what the writer is responding to. -> -> It's not just brilliant, it's intuitive. The reply comes after what you -> are replying to. -> -> As Mary noted on the iMac List: -> -> A: Because it reverses the logical flow of conversation. -> Q: Why is top posting frowned upon? -> -> -> --> Top Posting -> -> Over the past decade, as more and more users have come to use email, a -> new style of reply emerged where the reply came first and was followed by -> the original message. Often the entire original message. No selective -> quoting. No removing unnecessary header lines or ads at the bottom. Bam, -> everything. -> -> Some people prefer top posting, some are very vocal in their support of -> it, and some refuse to scroll through a message to read a bottom posted -> reply. Really. -> -> -> --> Our Research -> -> Remember the issue of quoting the entire original message? Well it turns -> out that almost everyone who does that is a top poster. They use the -> default setting on their email client, they don't take the time to quote -> selectively, and they fill digests with massive quantities of -> unnecessarily quoted content. -> -> -> --> Our Guidelines -> -> Bottom posting is not only the oldest established method of replying on -> the Internet, it is also the most logical. It demonstrates that the -> sender is in a dialogue. It makes it easy for new subscribers to follow -> the conversation. It's just logical. -> -> Because of this, we recommend bottom posting as the normal way of -> replying on our lists. -> -> This should also eliminate most of the problems with excessive quoting. -> -> However, we are not passing a hard and fast rule against top posting. I -> use it myself when I send the following note to excessive quoters: -> -> >This is a semi-automatic message from Dan, the listmom. -> > -> >Thanks for posting to the list. -> > -> >Please be careful not to quote *too much* of the original message (your -> >recent posting is quoted below) when replying to the list -- especially -> >the header and/or footer. (You're not being singled out; we send this to -> >everyone who does that, and we realize that many email programs do this by -> >default, so you may have to read the manual or help files to learn how to -> >change this.) -> > -> >Thanks! -> -> Of course, that's not the kind of discussion we see within a list. On a -> list, top posting should be the exception, not the rule. Something like -> "this is a bunch of bunk" or "the nanny declares this thread DEAD" are -> appropriate as top posts; most replies are not. -> -> -> Remember that this is a guideline. We won't kick you off the list for not -> following it, but we believe bottom posting is the better way. -> -> Dan the listmom -- HTH, Paul (<pjspop @ bresnan.net>) <>< QuadList & PCI PowerMacs nanny ^�^ -- PCI-PowerMacs is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- Sonnet & PowerLogix Upgrades - start at $169 | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> PCI-PowerMacs list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/pci-powermacs.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive:<http://www.mail-archive.com/pci-powermacs%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
