On Thu, 11 May 2017 13:43:52 -0400, Tom Lane <tgl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: >... The point of quoting previous messages is not to replicate >the entire thread in each message; we have archives for that. The point >is to *briefly* remind readers what it is that you're responding to. >If you can't be brief, you are disrespecting your readers by wasting their >time. They've probably already read the earlier part of the thread anyway. Search engines often land in the middle of a conversation. Quoted material needs to establish sufficient context for the response to make sense. On many occasions, a search has landed me on some site where it was difficult to navigate threads starting from the middle. I know we're talking about Usenet here, and Google Groups isn't too awful[*] when approached strictly as a Usenet archive ... but proper posting etiquette applies to other discussion mediums as well. >Personally, when I've scrolled down through a couple of pages of quoted >and re-quoted text and see no sign of it ending any time soon, I tend >to stop reading. I agree 100%. But excessive brevity can make it so a reader can't follow the conversation. Users of web forums often assume *you* can easily look back up the thread because *they* can. In my experience, it isn't always easy to do. YMMV, George [*] where is a "gagging" emoji when you really need one? -- Sent via pgsql-general mailing list (pgsql-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx) To make changes to your subscription: http://www.postgresql.org/mailpref/pgsql-general
