LookOUT 2007

[Rick Chadderdon]

Gerard Seibert wrote:
> Yes, along with a lot of other words. Ever hear of "conventional norm"?

Gerard, no matter what you (and other top-post extremists) want to
think, top and inline posting are neither conventional nor the norm. 
Which form to use and how much (if any) to quote actually *should* vary,
depending on the type of post, type of conversation, information being
offered and probably a few other variables I didn't list.  *Most* people
in business *want* to top post, and they want their responses to be top
posted, too.  I get frequent requests from business email users to
change their settings so that their email replies default to top posting.

This basically boils down to personal preference, and how an individual
actually reads their lists, whether it's Usenet, mailing lists or (back
when I first started discussing this topic) BBS forums and Fidonet. 
People who use unthreaded clients and skim their lists usually hate top
posting because they have to scroll around to see what the conversation
is about.  People who use threaded clients and read most or all of the
posts (or at least most or all of given threads) are generally
indifferent, tending to either top or bottom post (depending on their
client's default) for quick responses and inline post for longer ones. 
I fall into the latter category.  It's also pretty clear that in simple
correspondence, top posting is likely to be more efficient.  (Note that
I'm not talking about lists in that last sentence, but about email
exchanges.)  You send me a question, I send you an answer.  You don't
need to read your own question again to see what you asked.  If it's
been a long time and you don't remember what you asked (which is going
to be comparatively uncommon) then you can scroll, if necessary, through
the bottom quoted text.  It's when top, bottom or inline posting become
a religion that we have problems.  There is no flexibility in a religion.

I, personally, can get frustrated with reading a long discussion in a
threaded reader when a large number of people bottom post, overquoting
and forcing me to scroll through every message, skipping tons of stuff
I've already read.  I don't post to the group complaining about people's
posting style, though - I simply grit my teeth and make my way through
the thread.  Sometimes I decide that particular people post in a way
that I simply do not enjoy reading and I filter them.

I do agree that poor choices in which kind of post to make can make
reading any given individual message difficult.  Most readers which
properly thread messages make the point mostly moot and return the issue
to one of personal preference based on one's reading habits.  My gripe
is usually not about top or bottom posting, but those who insist that
one or the other is always better.

Rick