In article , Andy Spragg
writes
I have been having the argument with one
of my oldest friends (not a Usenet user) for a couple of years now,
because I've carried the practice of bottom-posting over into email
and he invariably cracks up about it.

I do that with email with internet friends. It's a lot less trouble when
you are having wide ranging conversations taking a dozen or more
screens. But when I forgot and used it to a work colleague, he commented
that the computer seemed to have scrambled the email ;-)
--
Kay Easton

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

In article , David Rance david.ran
writes
On Sat, 13 Sep 2003, Jane Ransom wrote:

That being said, the abc actually doesn't refer to top or bottom posting as
far as I can see, just to the nonposting of binaries and editing down
messages to keep them concise.

It says this:

(2) When you are replying to a message, it's a good idea to edit down
your quotes (snipping) to the point(s) that you are actually addressing,
but be sure that you have kept enough in to make it intelligible!

Ok, maybe it is not entirely clear so perhaps we should make it a little
more explicit.

OK, I'm open to suggestions.....


'You must NOT EVER top post cos Jane Ransom says so' ?
--
Jeff Taylor

The message
from Jeff Taylor contains these words:

OK, I'm open to suggestions.....


'You must NOT EVER top post cos Jane Ransom says so' ?

Good Lord no. Because *I* say so innit.

--
Grim Reaper Oh thou! Whatever title suit thee,
Auld Hornie, Satan, Nick, or Clootie. (Burns)

On Sun, 14 Sep 2003 21:28:09 +0100, Jeff Taylor
wrote:

snip


'You must NOT EVER top post cos Jane Ransom says so' ?

A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on usenet?

Andy

This is the easy, lazy way of doing things. That's what we have technology
for.

The structure of the conversation is provided already in the newsgroup (my
reply appears below yours in most good newsreaders) why should anybody have
to duplicate that structure within each individual post?

X.

"Andy" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 14 Sep 2003 21:28:09 +0100, Jeff Taylor
wrote:

snip


'You must NOT EVER top post cos Jane Ransom says so' ?

A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on usenet?

Andy

The message
from Andy contains these words:

On Sun, 14 Sep 2003 21:28:09 +0100, Jeff Taylor
wrote:

snip


'You must NOT EVER top post cos Jane Ransom says so' ?

A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
or possibly McKraken or similar.
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on usenet?

--
Rusty Hinge
No m'lud, it wasn't a sneg. My joints creak.

ok, so the sig idea wasn't the brightest idea I'd ever had :-\ ...cest la
vie...win some lose some....very interesting debate , I understand better
both sides now. Im a reformed top poster though and will continue with the
bottom posting.....just need to work on the editing ;-)

Thanks all
Shannie

(Andy Spragg) wrote in news:3f634bd1.213955659
@news.global.net.uk:

Someone else in this thread said that top posting was "common sense".
FWIW, I happen to agree with that, witness the fact that newbies
almost invariably do it - and in the absence of anything better to go
on, people are going to go on common sense.

Back in the day (? 1996 ?), it used to be regularly said in this kind of
thread that:

People who start their usenet life top-posting are people whose newsreaders
automatically put the cursor at the top - usually Outlook Express users.

Personally, my first newsreader (free agent) put the cursor at the bottom,
so I was never tempted.

I don't think I've seen that statement posted for several years now, so I'm
starting a retro revival ;-)

My own greatest dislike is for posters who add a couple of lines to the
very bottom of a vast quoted message. My current newsreader (Xnews) not
only sticks the cursor at the bottom, but complains if you post something
that is more than 60% quote. That seems like a good idea to me.

Just in case anyone cares, here's a vote for snippage.

Victoria
--
Clare Associates Ltd
http://www.clareassoc.co.uk/
01822 835802
--

(Andy Spragg) wrote in news:3f634bd1.213955659
@news.global.net.uk:

Someone else in this thread said that top posting was "common sense".
FWIW, I happen to agree with that, witness the fact that newbies
almost invariably do it - and in the absence of anything better to go
on, people are going to go on common sense.

Back in the day (? 1996 ?), it used to be regularly said in this kind of
thread that:

People who start their usenet life top-posting are people whose newsreaders
automatically put the cursor at the top - usually Outlook Express users.

Personally, my first newsreader (free agent) put the cursor at the bottom,
so I was never tempted.

I don't think I've seen that statement posted for several years now, so I'm
starting a retro revival ;-)

My own greatest dislike is for posters who add a couple of lines to the
very bottom of a vast quoted message. My current newsreader (Xnews) not
only sticks the cursor at the bottom, but complains if you post something
that is more than 60% quote. That seems like a good idea to me.

Just in case anyone cares, here's a vote for snippage.

Victoria
--
Clare Associates Ltd
http://www.clareassoc.co.uk/
01822 835802
--

For perfect examples of why I hate bottom posting, read the replies in
today's "A Stake in the Pond" thread (I'm not picking on anyone, I'm just
giving examples). IMO, most problems are caused by the lack of snipping.
If the original message was snipped then there wouldn't be any scrolling and
we'd all be happy. Check out:
http://www.lionsgrove.com/topposting.html
http://www.peterkerr.freeserve.co.uk.../mm_thugs.html

"shannie" wrote in message
...
I dont want to start a war, just throwing out a simple suggestion ;-)
As many newbies come into groups with their questions or comments there
is
a tendancy, if they are not sure of things, to top post........

The message
from "Xebug" contains these words:

This is the easy, lazy way of doing things. That's what we have technology
for.

The structure of the conversation is provided already in the newsgroup (my
reply appears below yours in most good newsreaders) why should anybody have
to duplicate that structure within each individual post?

It certainly doesn't appear after the quoted text in this good newsreader.

It's no more trouble to do it the sensible way, and often, a hell of a
lot easier.

--
Rusty Hinge
No m'lud, it wasn't a sneg. My joints creak.

"Jaques d'Altrades" wrote in message
...
The message
from "Xebug" contains these words:

This is the easy, lazy way of doing things. That's what we have
technology
for.

The structure of the conversation is provided already in the newsgroup
(my
reply appears below yours in most good newsreaders) why should anybody
have
to duplicate that structure within each individual post?

It certainly doesn't appear after the quoted text in this good newsreader.

I was referring to the thread structure, not to the contents of posts.


It's no more trouble to do it the sensible way, and often, a hell of a
lot easier.

You probably haven't tried following a bottom-posted thread on google groups
then.


--
Rusty Hinge
No m'lud, it wasn't a sneg. My joints creak.

In article , shannie
writes


ok, so the sig idea wasn't the brightest idea I'd ever had :-\

No, I don't think that's the conclusion to come to at all. It is a good
idea, but it needs us all to work together. So how do we work on that
side ?


...cest la
vie...win some lose some....very interesting debate , I understand better
both sides now. Im a reformed top poster though and will continue with the
bottom posting.....just need to work on the editing ;-)

Thanks all
Shannie





--
Kay Easton

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

I can understand a thread either way. It`s snipping thats the devils own
spawn. Or should I say, the lack of it.

My newsreader defaults to bottom post, aka usenet default. Others may not.

I`ll keep on reading any way.

--
email farmer chris on
Please don`t use as it`s a spam haven.

The message
from Kay Easton contains these words:
--------snipped-----------------

I don't think this is the case now?

Do people still look at the ng before posting and lurk awhile to get the
flavour of the group?
--
Kay Easton

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


I jumped straight in but then I have great retention on my newserver and
had seen the FAQ`s about 10 times before I posted. In fact it was the
FAQ that led me to post in the first place.

The fact of about 11 years of usenet use probably means I know the ins
and outs a bit more than someone who has just stumbled across it.

Personally I use usenet more than the web.

--
email farmer chris on
Please don`t use as it`s a spam haven.