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Posted by Chris F.A. Johnson on 08/31/06 00:06
On 2006-08-30, Russell Campbell wrote:
>
> It's interesting how people want to dictate how you post because that's the
> way they post.
It's interesting that people generally post in a sensible manner.
> One thing I've noticed in many years on the Web is that there are
> many preferences on this issue and it's kind of silly to try to make
> people post the way you want them to.
Usenet is *not* the Web.
> Why is your way correct and mine not?
Why does 1 plus 1 equal 2 and not 3?
> In my experience, most people "top post",
Not in Usenet, and not, in my experience in e-mail either, though
unfortunately it is becomming more common.
> but switch to "mixed posting" (to make up a term meaning
> quote/reply/quote/reply etc.) when the original post is long and
> contains many points (I do this sometimes).
That makes sense. Put your reply after the relevant section.
> In quite a number of different forums I find that top posting and
> mixed posting are most prevelent, with "bottom posting" being used
> (but IMHO it's the most irritating).
Forums are not Usenet.
> I think you have to allow for people to post the way they want to.
Sure, if they want to be corrected or ignored.
> It's irritating when people jump on this issue in such a small minor
> post as this was. At least in a longer submission I could understand
> the desire for mixed posting, but in this little thread they need
> everything requoted?
In Usenet, you have no idea whether the reader has even seen any
previous posts, or whether they are available, or whether he
remembers it, after poerhaps having read dozens (or even hundreds)
of other posts before returning to the thread.
> I sure don't understand why.
Try harder.
> Really . . . you can't dictate people's styles. Sorry if you don't
> like it, but I live with other people's posting styles and resist
> lecturing, so why can't you (granted, you weren't the one that told
> me how to post, but you did chime in). I do have to resist the
> temptation to request a certain style when people bottom post. When
> the orginal post was long, it's really irritating to have to
> constantly scroll down to see the latest response, especially as it
> gets copied with replies and the latest reply is way down the page.
It helps to use a good newsreader. I just press tab to go directly
to the new material, no matter how long the post is. Even without
that, it's rare for more than two or three keystrokes to be
required to get to the bottom.
> An in e-mail, top posting is very, very common.
It's getting that way, unfortunately.
> The main thing is that I can remember what I said and I don't need
> people to do the quote/reply thing.
Perhaps you don't say very much? In a newsgroup, ythere may be
many pespondents, not just you. It is much easier if one can read
the replies chronologically.
> I just want to get their response (but, as I mentioned, in long
> postings or e-mails quote/reply is fine). Your preference for mixed
> posting is fine, but trying to make people post a certain way is
> really just a waste of time.
Not posting logically is a waste of many more people's time.
--
Chris F.A. Johnson <http://cfaj.freeshell.org>
===================================================================
Author:
Shell Scripting Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach (2005, Apress)
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