--- In [email protected], Len Warner <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > At 8:20 am ((PDT)) Fri May 9, 2008, in Digest 2307 Bill Carver wrote: > >[snip main part of reply] > >-----Original message----- > >From: "Terry" [EMAIL PROTECTED] > ><snip> > >(top post to keep message flow) > >Terry > > > >What does "top post to keep message flow" mean? > > It means:- > a) you don't want to know where Terry puts a cup of coffee ;-) > and > b) a chain of reasoning is unfamiliar to some top-posters. > > It''s a bit like seeing someone driving the wrong way down > the freeway and deciding it's a good lead to follow. > > > Regards, LenW > -- > (& because it's often followed by a complete failure to trim) > A: Because it destroys the flow of the conversation > Q: Why is top-posting bad? >
<flame on> OK. I ignored it yesterday because I KNEW this would happen. Thanks Len. a) I don't drink coffee. I usually put a cup on TOP of things, not the bottom. Place your cup wherever you want Len, I humbly suggest that you put it where you post your replies (not your top)... I hope it stays hot ;^} b) Chain of reasoning unfamiliar? Give me a break. If I HAD bottom- posted, that would have destroyed the logic flow of the messages. No chain, simple reasoning. Bill: Top-posting is thought to be bad by some self-appointed monitors, because it violates a precious Internet RFC. Absolutes and all. I sometimes put that line in a reply to indicate that I'm top-posting to preserve the flow of the discussion - in an attempt to not incite a negative response. I usually follow the same method that the previous message did. Otherwise, some reply data is above, and some is below, and it destroys thought flow. And yes, Len, some of us have such small pea-brains that we cannot ewasily follow out-of- sequence up-and-down replies. If I'm the first to reply, I will bottom-post, but if I'm responding to an earlier reply, I follow whatever the previous person did. Nevermind that the Yahoo web interface automatically places the cursor at the top for a reply (in addition to the reply header). Nevermind that M$ mail (and most other mail programs) typically puts replies at the top if you hit the reply button. Nevermind that blogs do as well. Newest information at the top is easier to read for western-society humans. Nevermind that the real world of working-class people almost always top post in a work environment. When I was working, I virtually NEVER saw replies at the bottom of emails. They were almost always at the TOP, so you could read the most recent info first. But, I guess a commercial, cost-sensitive environment is different than the Internet environment. Following a lemming off the cliff into the ocean just because it says so in the Lemming RFC is just as bad, Len. Driving the wrong way, give me a break. I usually don't read a newspaper article (or anything else) by reading the LAST paragraph first. We are a top-down society. Len's little message at the bottom of his message proves my point. It's cute, but totally backwards to the way our society reads. Did it make sense the first time you read it? I'll bet not. Trimming is also less of an issue in the commercial world. In fact, there are times where trimming is frowned upon, especially for legal reasons in some cases. But, that's the commercial world of high- speed connections, so I can see some reason to trim in the amateur world. Yea, I know about trimming, and, I'm trying harder. The above was NOT trimmed on purpose. Bill, I have emails from other hams that have given up on trying to post to this group because they were afraid that they would be castigated by the RFC police. And in a personal, insulting way. We will never know what we lost because of that. Please don't let this happen to you - or to other readers. The actual hobby-related information is much more important than the format of that information. Len: Two days ago, I was going to send you an email saying that I was happy that you are offering positive, amateur-related info, not just sniping. Nevermind. <flame off> Returning to ham radio. Terry WB4JFI
