Good afternoon all, particularly the moderators
I have been criticised a few times for top posting on this list. I haven't participated much since the last critic. I started work in 1963. I was told that I just missed out using nibs that you dip into an ink well. My first recollections of keeping records were handwritten notes on plain paper. I progressed to typing and then computerised records. Back to the paper - we wrote down the page (of course). However the pages were filed latest on top. The idea being that when I opened a file I wanted to see the most recent notes to remind me what had happened recently. When I needed to know more history I opened the older pages. When I moved to computerised record keeping this principle has proven better than the concept of scrolling to the bottom of the 'page' to see what happened in my last discussion. I am not alone in this thinking. Some data managers built specially for my work follow this principle. Which leads me to why some dislike top posting. If I am following a long thread the last thing I want to do is page down over the information I have read before. I want to simply read the new bit that some kind person has added. (If I need a reminder of what has gone before, I simply scroll. But if I am interested in the thread this rarely happens.) If a thread becomes complex, answers should be inserted where they are relevant. Surely if I thank somebody for their help, they are entitled to see my thanks quickly. I suspect this will start a flame or two, but I am passionate about this. Comments please. Keith Bainbridge PO Box 324 BELMONT Vic 3216 +61 (0)408 522 706 [email protected]
