[Artemisia] Sorry, can't let the dog alone....

Raven DuLoche RavenDuLoche at FaeWood.org
Thu Jan 24 16:29:29 CST 2008



Lord Godwin FitzGilbert de Strigoil wrote: 


>What is so terribly wrong with top posting?
>
>I can see it, if nobody trims the previous posts, but isn't that the case
>no
>matter where you start your response?
>
>Godwin
><who top posts, but trims as well>

I agree and here's why.  I'm using a preview pane and with a top post I can
immediately see the newest post.  With the shorter posts it makes it really
quick and easy to read it and move on.  With a bottom post even if the
newest post is short, I still have to move down to the bottom of the email
to read it.  Here is an example that came up after this discussion started
and people started bottom posting more.  There was an original post, then
bottom post reply A, then bottom post reply B, then bottom post reply C.
Reply A was using the > sign on the original post, but post b and c didn't
have this, so with each post I had to read/scan the entire thing to get to
the bottom post and this is time consuming.  Now granted, it didn't take a
lot of time, but with the number of posts on this list it adds up.

I did do a little online research and yes according to netiquette bottom
post is proper, although I also saw articles questioning why.  One of them
used the example of a book, when we pause when reading one and then go back
to it we don't re-read the portion we already read, we pick up where we left
off.  I also posed this question to some friends of mine.  I belong to a
small yahoo group that was formed solely for the purpose of easily keeping
in touch with each other.  On the list there is a librarian/author/teacher,
a couple of IT professionals, an archivist/professor, a student working on
his Masters, and an engineer.  They all use top posting most of the time.
Sometimes an in-line post is best for clarity if several things are being
replied to but it's almost always top posting.

So, I'm seconding Lord Godwin's question, as long as things are properly
trimmed, why is bottom posting better?  

Raven DuLoche



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