only_from = 127.0.0.1

[Kevin Keane]

Replies embedded below...

Marc Powell wrote:
> On Apr 23, 2009, at 12:53 PM, Kevin Keane wrote:
>
>   
>> Top-posting means that you put what you have to say at the top of the
>> reply the way I do it here. Bottom-posting means that you put your  
>> reply
>> below the original message.
>>     
>
> Don't forget about the best method, inline reply.
>   
Yes, I should have said "inline reply" instead of "bottom posting" 
everywhere (and my description also wasn't quite accurate. Should have 
been "you put your reply below the point you are replying to"). True 
bottom posting is possibly the worst of all options, but I did mean the 
style that you, correctly, call "inline reply". Of course, if there is 
only one point you are responding to, inline replying and bottom posting 
are one and the same.
>> In the original Internet culture, bottom-posting was preferred, and  
>> some
>>     
> Actually, no. inline replying was and still is preferred for technical  
> mailling lists. I'd hazard to say that's true the technical users on  
> this list as well.
I've been around Usenet ever since Compuserve (remember them?) started 
offering newsgroups, so I do remember the inline-replying culture quite 
well. And you may have a point. Many of the technical users of today 
(especially the experienced ones who tend to be the most prolific 
posters) are old-timers like myself, which would explain the preference 
among technical users. On the other hand, many people who started using 
the Net in this century, including even people with IT college degrees, 
have never seen inline replies, and don't even think to look below.
> The day you subscribe to a list via digest mode, you'll fully understand why. ;)
>   
LOL, don't get me started on digest mode! If I had my way, either Digest 
mode would be eliminated, or it would only be offered on lists that also 
have a good Web interface so you can properly respond to older posts as 
well as current ones (that's one of the reasons I much prefer Yahoo 
groups to Sourceforge mailing lists).
>> In my mind, most of the time top posting actually is better because  
>> the reply stands out more than the original question - which usually is what you want.
>>     
>
> Not if you want to make multiple points without entirely restating  
> what you're replying to. Try to make my responses sensible in a top or  
> bottom posting context without doing that.
>   
Agreed to some extent; in fact, I think I also listed that as an 
advantage of inline reply (which I erroneously called bottom posting).

I'm saying "to an extent" because if you overdo it, you can also end up 
with a completely chopped up discussion. It gets particularly convoluted 
in political flame wars...

I also usually add one other enhancement when I do use inline replying: 
I attach a note to the top "Replies embedded below" because many people 
I reply to, especially in private emails, aren't familiar with inline 
replying and otherwise wouldn't think to look below. In this case, of 
course, it's unnecessary; I just did it for illustration purposes.
>> My personal rule: if there already is a longer thread, stick with
>> whatever style it has.
>>     
> That's great! If it's a top or bottom post, you're increasing the  
> redundancy of what's stored/sent in everyone's mail client, in the  
> archives and most terribly, in the digests. by the number of replies  
> to that thread.
That's got nothing much to do with top- or bottom- or inline-replying. 
Cutting irrelevant old stuff out is a good thing no matter which style 
you are using, although some people go overboard and cut out everything 
at all (that's a fourth style of replying, and another universally bad 
one: no quoting at all), and then you don't know what they are replying to.
>> * technically speaking, there is a still-valid RFC that specifies
>> bottom-posting, but in practical terms it has been obsoleted by  
>> history.
>>     
>
> That's arguable, but could approach the passion level of a discussion  
> of religion.
>   
Is it getting hot here or what? :-))

-- 
Kevin Keane
Owner
The NetTech
Find the Uncommon: Expert Solutions for a Network You Never Have to Think About

Office: 866-642-7116
http://www.4nettech.com

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