[Tfug] top/bottom and middle posting

[Bexley Hall]

Hi, Paul,

--- On Mon, 2/16/09, Paul Lemmons <paul at lemmons.name> wrote:

> I am not a stickler for top or bottom posting but when there
> is a mix it makes posts almost impossible to follow.
> Netiquette dictates fairly bluntly that bottom posting is
> how one should reply to a post. While I recognize that
> almost every windows email program in the world top posts,
> it is not all that tough to scroll to the bottom to type in

Agreed.  However, when posting from my phone, this is a
bit of a chore...

> a response. This is a local group so we may have our own
> conventions but we really ought to have some consistent
> means of doing this. I vote for bottom posting because I
> think the Netiquette folks are right on this one. What do
> you all think?

I think the top/bottom (middle?) issue is usually tied to
some degree of laziness -- whether it is in personal email,
USENET, mailing lists, etc.  People seem to base their
"preference" on whatever is easiest vs. what makes the most
sense.  (I have a friend who always rationalizes his top
posting by saying "that's where the cursor was placed" ...
as if the software was smart enough to *know* where it should
be placed  :-/ )

E.g., if others will be reading your post, it is important for
them to be able to put your comments into context.  OTOH,
they don't need to see the *entire* discussion quoted in
your reply!

Elide portions that are no longer germane and summarize other
portions (I tend to put summaries in square brackets so they
stand out as such).

Personally, I like to be able to read my email, USENET posts, etc.
as ongoing converstations -- so the statements (points of
view, arguments, etc.) that I am replying to are sitting right
above my own.

<shrug>  The debate will rage on, ad nauseum... :-)