What does Python fix?

[JMarttila]

(Inserts cursor at top, inserts a blank line, begins typing)

Thank you Mark. I often read newsgroups through Google, as I am doing
now. I usually want to scream. "PLEASE TOP POST!" When I read a
newsgroup, I have already read the discussion. So I vastly prefer when
someone just puts their response AT THE TOP. I don't have to wade
through vast amounts of quoted text which I ALREADY READ. And I
already know WHO SAID WHAT! So a simple, "I agree with Mark's point",
or "Jim's point about xxxx I disagree with and here's why." works much
better for me. On Google, since it seems as many as 25% of the posts
lead of with a large chunk of quoted text, to read the actual new
content of the message I have to click on "read more of this message".
Usually when I do that I find a "yes, I agree" at the bottom of the
vast quote. Argh! So I've discovered that the best remedy for me is to
just ignore all messages that lead off by quoting so much of the
discussion (Which I already read! Get it?) that they need me to click
to see more. I find those posters usually don't have anything to add
anyway.

Of course, ideally, I prefer the people who are so intelligent and
courteous that they respond inline, with minimal amounts of quoted
material. But if you can't do that, please top post. I've already read
the rest of the damn discussion. I even prefer this method when I am
using a proper newsreader.

Now, if you are not sure what message I am responding to, please see
the material below.

John Marttila

BTW- I also really hate when discussions veer far off topic. Which I
am contributing to here. But that is a minor evil compared to bottom
posting.

"Mark McEahern" <marklists at mceahern.com> wrote in message news:<mailman.1011314607.18477.python-list at python.org>...
> Paul Jackson wrote:
> > Does someone have a simple explanation of why such
> > top posting is bad form?  I don't like it either,
> > but I am unable to articulate why I don't like it.
> 
> I personally don't mind top-posting.  It beats the hell out of someone who
> lazily quotes pages upon pages of text and then says at the bottom, "Yeah, I
> agree."
> 
> IMHO, there are no hard and fast rules on how best to participate in a
> thread, but here are some general ones:
> 
> 	o Try to be mindful of your reader's attention span.
> 	o Try to provide just enough context (whether before or after).
> 
> ;-)
> 
> // mark