The need for quoting is dependent on the recipient. It may not be necessary for those with excellent memories. It may not be necessary for those who only ever subscribe to a minimal number of related lists. For those forgetful and confused people like myself, however, quoting is very helpful. There are those, myself included, who regularly switch between a multitude of topics, and who don't spend every waking moment rehearsing over and over in our minds what each individual contributor to any of those topics has said. At least in my particular case, you must also realize that my time and memory are further occupied by my rather demanding occupation, as well as my private conversations with my wife and our thirteen children. A short reminder, therefore, goes a long way toward attracting our attention and to helping us give a timely and meaningful response. That being said, I do feel very strongly that those who do quote should take the time to remove extraneous text from that which they do quote. Please do quote enough text to help set the context and to help explain your response, but, also, please do delete everything else. Creating the need for all others to dig through your message with a fine-toothed comb in order to finally discover what you yourself are contributing, or, more importantly, seeking help for, is not only painful, but also an incentive for some of us to arbitrarily dismiss the message as not being worth the time it takes to figure it out. As rude as it may make me appear, I myself indeed have been known to do exactly this when other matters in my life (both on and off list) have been more pressing. In short, be considerate for your readers' needs. Do quote enough to help us know what you're referring to, but don't over-quote as that only over-burdens us with irrelevance. Quoting is a tool which can be used both responsibly and irresponsibly. Like everything else in life, the easiest root invariably leads in the direction of irresponsible conduct. Please put in the time, even if it seems excessive to you, to trim out everything that needn't be quoted. -- Dave Mielke | 2213 Fox Crescent | I believe that the Bible is the Phone: 1-613-726-0014 | Ottawa, Ontario | Word of God. Please contact me EMail: dave@xxxxxxxxx | Canada K2A 1H7 | if you're concerned about Hell. http://familyradio.com/ | http://mielke.cc/bible/ _______________________________________________ Blinux-list@xxxxxxxxxx https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list