[Wylug-discuss] List Etiquette: Top Posting vs. Bottom Posting

[David Holden]

On Sunday 28 October 2007, Dave Fisher wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> I don't want to give even the feintest hint of personal criticism or
> 'laying down the law' on this matter, but the recent rash of top-posting
> does prompt me to ask members the following questions:
>
>   1. Should we continue to maintain our long-term policy of asking
>      people to bottom post?

No.


>
>   2. If you believe that the policy should be maintained, what do you
>      think we should do about top-posting?
>
> For what it's worth, my personal opinion is that bottom posting still
> offers significant advantages for threaded discussion, especially where
> long threads are involved and where there are any number of interleaved
> responses.
>
> If you are a committed supporter of top-posting, please note the
> qualifications I've just made.
>
> I fully appreciate that MS Outlook has virtually enforced top posting of
> 1-to-1 email across great swathes of t'Internet.
>
> Moreover, I'd even endorse the idea that top-posting has several
> important communicative advantages in everyday email, e.g. seeing the
> most pertinent message first, before wading into the record of prior
> discussion.


Most normal people (non tech folk) I've talked to are baffled when I bottom 
post - "Why do I have to scroll down all the time for you replies.."

>
> While I'd personally like to maintain bottom posting, I'd prefer
> consistent top-posting to a free-for-all miscellany of top-, bottom- and
> middle-posting.
>
> In my experience, the need to readjust both reading and writing modes on
> a message by message basis is a right pain in the neck, wrist and brain
>
> ... and I'd even go so far as to claim that mixing posting modes makes
> it objectively difficult to follow more than 2 or 3 steps in a threaded
> discussion.

I've lefts lists over top/bottom post fascists, its not worth the hassle.


>
> Your thoughts, please.
>
> Dave


 Cheers,

            Dave.


-- 
Dr. David Holden.

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