[Tutor] A Plea for Sensible Quoting

[Michael Powe]

Hello,

I read this list in a linux console using mutt. I dunno, maybe I'm the
only idiot left still using a console mail client.  I write my emails
and email replies in emacs, too, which may make me even weirder.

Few elements make a mail harder to read than 130 lines of nested
quoting, into which has been inserted 3 or 5 lines of comment.  Mutt
does a good job of identifying the quote nesting and highlighting the
quoted material; and I can use the `T' command to remove the quoting.
But sometimes, "context" in the sense of what was being replied to is
useful.  When a thread reponse is quoting 3 other respondents plus the
OP, "context" turns into "what everybody is saying," which is more
like standing in a crowded train terminal, where everybody is
shouting, than having a quiet, private conversation among 4 people.
Then, I have to page down four screens to find the 5 lines of new
comment, and try to figure out what portion of that three-level-nested
dialog that preceeds it was the trigger for the response.

Just a plea to remember to take the time to `C-k' or `dd' or whatever
is required to get that extraneous material out of the mail.  A little
formatting goes a long way.

Thanks.

mp

<dons flameproof asbestos suit/>

-- 
Michael Powe		michael at trollope.org		Naugatuck CT USA
Fun experiments:
  Get a can of shaving cream, throw it in a freezer for about a week.
  Then take it out, peel the metal off and put it where you want...
  bedroom, car, etc.  As it thaws, it expands an unbelievable amount.