May I make a note that properly worded, a top note doesn't need to be placed precisely under its relative text. However, there are times when replies need to be placed beneath the specific section it is referencing as yours does. Any statement that needs to be placed at the very bottom of an email is just as effective at the top. It is easier to see the reply at the top and scan the bottom area to see what it references if it is a complete thought or statement in and of itself. Yes, no, no, yes and yes. The above sentence would not make since at the top or bottom....it would need to follow the appropriate text. Sure, etiquette says post at the bottom. Posting at the top or within the text makes better sense depending on the reference. How much should one cut when referring to the work as a whole? Sometimes there is no direct reference to a sentence, etc. I try to comply, but compliance can be a challenge at times. Buck -----Original Message----- From: shrike-list-admin@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:shrike-list-admin@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Rodolfo J. Paiz Sent: Sunday, October 05, 2003 11:35 PM To: shrike-list@xxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: e-mail etiquette At 09:36 10/5/2003, you wrote: >It makes no sense whatever to me to scroll through 50 lines of >previously posted text [...] This simply exemplifies the _other_ bad habit most people have: not trimming the reply down to the "minimum required to provide context." Note how this message kept exactly 1.5 lines of previous text, just enough for you to know and understand to which text I was replying. However, having done that... then the obviously more useful thing is to keep text in order, which generally means chronological order, and the nature of one-to-many communication as discussed in RFC1855 makes "bottom-posting" by far the preferable method in these cases. If, on the other hand, you are merely conversing one-on-one with a friend by email, then by all means feel free to top-post if you desire! In that circumstance one usually remembers the previous response so top-posting is quicker and more convenient. >The rest of the time this is wasted effort. I am physically challenged >and barely have enough strength in my hands to use the keyboard and >mouse. I strongly suggest you look into speech command, which has progressed quite a bit and which may make your life much easier. In particular, IBM ViaVoice may be of interest to you. However, your disability does not change the fact that a community of X thousands of users prefers a certain protocol... in such a case, one must do one's best to adapt to the community in order to coexist harmoniously. I am temporally challenged (never have enough time), and top posted threads get quickly confusing, thus I am not able or willing to spend the time to pick up the thread and offer help. Many of the more expert list denizens feel the same way and have oh-so-many times strongly expressed the same position. Please, chew on people for excessive quoting, but honor this list's netiquette and do not top post. -- Rodolfo J. Paiz rpaiz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx -- Shrike-list mailing list Shrike-list@xxxxxxxxxx https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/shrike-list -- Shrike-list mailing list Shrike-list@xxxxxxxxxx https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/shrike-list
