RE: Learn how to quote ...

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To: 'David Smith ' <dbsmith@atbbs.dyndns.org>, "'security-basics@securityfocus.com '" <security-basics@securityfocus.com>
Date: Tue, 9 Nov 2004 16:09:16 +0530 

Although I switch between the two, personally I am more comfy with Top
posting(for the reasons you mentioned). as well as for the fact that, I
dont have to scroll till the end to comment on it(if its a long
conversation, then it is a pain to bottom post).

-----Original Message-----
From: David Smith
To: security-basics@securityfocus.com
Sent: 11/8/2004 3:17 PM
Subject: Re: Learn how to quote ...

On 3 Nov 2004, komal commented:

> Dear list members
> I would like to request all list members please stop top posting
> and over quoting. These are defeating the very purpose of having
> mainlg list. Please go through this wonderful article on how to
> post message and reply in mailing list.

Overquoting is a particular problem with maillists, esp. Yahoo's
Groups, all them tags & ads at the bottom. Also helpful to do
some trimming when you aren't responding to the whole message,
only part of it.

As for "the standard" being bottom-posting, it is. Top-posting
is also "the standard." I'm attempting to follow maybe thirty
lists these days, some of which rather vehemently require top-
posting. Like other community standards, either standard is
right, depending on what list you're responding to.

The argument for top-posting is that when one reads a lot of
messages from a list, one might well have already read the
original message mere seconds earlier. Seeing the response
right away upon opening the next message saves time.

I prefer and tend to use bottom (well, really, middle) posting,
which is what I learned in my BBSing days. I write my response
paragraphs between the original paragraphs, directly after what
I'm responding to. Gives more of a conversational feel, IMHO.

Trimming tags & footers & such is good. I also tend to trim
parts of the message to which I'm -not- replying. I think this
makes my reply more clear. OTOH, content I trim off is not
available in responses to my response. That can be an issue in
political discussions: "Well, I said that, but you misquoted me
because I also said -this-, which makes the meaning entirely
different...."

If the standard on this list is bottom quoting, I have no
problem with that. It's my habit anyway. But I tend to reply
in the style of the previous response, to keep things in
sequence in which ever direction.

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