On Sat, Jan 05, 2008 07:39:13 AM -0800, bg ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) wrote:
> On Sat, 2008-01-05 at 05:36, Troll/Idiot wrote:
>
> > Good advice, except for #3 (bottom posting). Some people prefer
> > bottom posting because they personally find it more convenient and
> > others prefer top posting because they find that more convenient.
Simply wrong, for the reason that bg explained very well:
> Top-posting is functional when used in a one-on-one "business"
> communication (I frame it in quotes so as to include personal
> business), but it does not work so well in a threaded discussion
> environment.
rules for effective communication are very different in the two cases:
a closed group of coworkers, relatives or friends, which know each
other and know what they're talking about (because there is seldom
more than one discussion at a time taking place) may do much better
with top posting. Just place the new info at the top because every
recipient knows well both you and what the current topic is.
In an open internet mailing list environment is exactly the opposite.
You must keep the natural flow of the discussion very clear, so even
people who you'll never exchange email again, don't have to waste time
to figure out who the heck you are and what you want. Ditto if there
are 5/6 simultaneous discussion, or if somebody subscribes just in the
middle of them.
The other reason to go for bottom posting is making archives usable,
another need which doesn't exist in closed environments. If you bottom
post, trim and quote decently the archives becomes a de-facto very
readable FAQ, without any extra effort from anybody.
Email wise, closed groups are very, very different from open mailing
list. Pointing out this single fact could and should stop at the
beginning every discussion on bottom versus top posting in public
lists.
Oh, and there's another reason to not top post. It is a fact that very
often, on most mailing lists the most competent subscribers, those who
can help you most, are those who handle the highest volume of email
and simultaneous unrelated discussion. Those who by habit do not
tolerate wasting even 5 seconds more than the absolute minimum on each
messages. Top posting is a very effective way to not get feedback from
those users.
Without forgetting for a moment that the first thing to do before
bottom posting is trimming as much as possible of the original
message, of course.
Marco
--
Your own civil rights and the quality of your life heavily depend on how
software is used *around* you: http://digifreedom.net/node/84
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