I'm afraid you guys are witty! Good on you. Rob, you're right - and Alan, you're right too. BRA-VO.<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Nov 4, 2009 at 12:19 AM, Alan Gauld <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:alan.gauld@btinternet.com">alan.gauld@btinternet.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><div class="im">"Robert Berman" <<a href="mailto:bermanrl@cfl.rr.com" target="_blank">bermanrl@cfl.rr.com</a>> wrote<br>
<br>
</div><div class="im"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
The war between bottom posters and top posters has been long, arduous,<br>
and most often incredibly silly.<br>
</blockquote>
<br></div>
It has, I agree but there is a very real difference in that gratuitous top<br>
posting does actually become unreadable if not done very carefully.<br>
And it also encorages people to leave the whole previous thread in<br>
place which is very naughty for those who pay for ther internet<br>
access by the byte! (Or those whose mail server implements<br>
space quotas!)<br>
<br>
But if a general comment is being made that does not need to refer<br>
to specific quotations from the earlier rtext then I have no problem<br>
with top posting. Provided all but a small context quote is left below.<br>
But please don't send me 3 pages of text to just add two sentences<br>
at the top!!!<div class="im"><br>
<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
I simply propose that the only requirement to communications here is<br>
that replies and questions be well formulated, courteous, and reasonably<br>
intelligent.<br>
</blockquote>
<br></div>
Ah but there's the rub, what is "well formatted"? :-)<div class="im"><br>
<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
If there are going to be arguments pertaining to the posts, let them be<br>
over content and not placement.<br>
</blockquote>
<br></div>
When you are trying to respond to hundreds of emails a day a<br>
few top posted messages can cause severe headaches. Personally I<br>
just ignore anything that has top posting that is hard to read, I don't have<br>
time to unscramble it nor to waste time asking the poster to desist.<br>
If they post scrambled mail it doesn't get answered...<br>
<br>
So its not quite a case of the "color of the bikeshed" because this one<br>
does make a very real difference to the usability of the medium and<br>
to the success of the message in reaching its full audience.<br>
<br>
In most cases it doesn't hurt much but in longer threads it does.<br>
So, please folks, be sensitive to your readers.<br>
<br>
Alan G.<div><div></div><div class="h5"><br>
<br>
<br>
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</div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Regards,<br>Lloyd<br>