Top or bottom.... matters less than some think.

[Tom Mitchell]

On Sat, Jan 10, 2004 at 12:20:30AM -0500, Robert L Cochran wrote:
> Top posting is used in a lot of mailing lists, numerous organizations, 
> and millions of individuals as routine.....

Hmmmm, yes this is true see below.

> Alexander Dalloz wrote:
> >posting to mailinglists, known under the name 'netiquette', making life
> >easier for all.

Hmmmm, and yes he also has a point see below.

Top or bottom posting is not the issue, communication is.

If I was tossed back on an old 300/150 baud modem I would love to see
top posting as the norm.  As an old timer I still value it when done well.

Operative phrase, "when well done".  I am a person that happens to like
seeing information on the _first_ screen (30 lines).  If all I see is
history it might hit page once, twice then 'd' it is.

However, on lists like this almost,
	no one is on a 300 baud or slower modem,
	no one keeps lots of threads handy and
	no one has a 'dumb' mail interface anymore.

The net result is that there is a need for most messages to stand
alone and carry a 'lot' of context.  This makes it easy for someone to
pick up in the middle of a conversation.  Reading from top to bottom
where the last lines are the most recent make jumping into a
conversation possible.  Normally jumping in without reading all the
previous posts is rude.  The volume of messages and global time zone
shifts almost forces us to drop in on discussions here.

This may explain why bottom posting is considered good on a list like
this and bad style in more common communications.  On classic net news
I could go back and pick up messages from a thread.  When I hit 'd' on
mail it is for all good purposes gone.  Thus sequential and useful
context makes sense.

For personal mail, top posting makes sense because there is a good
expectation that I have read the previous material.  For mailing lists
like this bottom posting under a sufficient context is good because I
may not have read the previous messages.

Me I do not care, just make sure your message has a message and that
I see something of interest  in the first 50 lines.

        (expect a rant on the evils of HTML eventually.
	I have not figured out how to do it without posting 
	evil HTML examples yet....)

-- 
	T o m  M i t c h e l l 
	mitch48-at-sbcglobal-dot-net