In article , amaryllis
wrote:
[snip]


Please help a newbie - Is there any way of getting the ordinary Outlook
Express to position the cursor (for typing) below the previous text
automatically when penning a reply? This would stop me doing the dreaded
top posting mistake!

Well, my mail/news reading/writing software also puts the caret at the
start when I open a 'reply' window. The idea, though, is that you then read
down what you intend to respond to, snipping out items that there is no
need to repeat, and fitting your comments in below each sections which you
wish to comment upon. The aim being to aid readability for those who get
your response. Hence if the caret were initially placed at the end you
would have to work 'upwards' to do this.

Simply "bottom posting" without snipping or editing what you are replying
to can be even more irritating to others than "top posting" as they have to
scroll down through a long duplicate of already-read text to reach the
response.

The point of the caret starting at the 'top' is not for you to assume this
is where your entire reply is to be typed. It is to allow you to proceed in
a logical manner thereafter. :-) Thus it isn't really "top-posting"
versus "bottom-posting". It is "leaving in all the original as an
indigestible chunk" versus "editing the reply to be clearly and easily
readable with minimal duplication or wasted effort by those reading your
response."

BTW I don't use OE, but this is for many other reasons... :-)

Slainte,

Jim

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