In article , Culturalenigma
writes

"anne" wrote in message
...
Trai, whatever you do DON'T top post!! That's worse than liking Alan
Titchmarsh... well almost ;-)

(snip)

Why not?

1) because it's usenet convention
2) because in a group with a lot of postings, you need a bit of a
reminder as to what the thread you are reading is about, and having to
scroll to the bottom to read the first post and then back up to see the
reply is tedious
3) because if you are replying to a long post with lots of different
points in it, it is more comprehensible for you reader if you reply to
each point immediately under that bit of the original post, rather than
altogether in a bunch at the top
4) because if a thread continues for some time, and most people are
posting according to convention but a few are top posting, the thread
becomes completely scrambled.

The corollary to conventional posting is that you also need to snip that
part of the original post that isn't required to give context to your
reply. Almost as irritating as the mess caused by top posting is
scrolling down 3 or more screens for a one-liner reply ... especially
when that reply is merely 'thanks'.
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm