Re: [NTLK] Top-Posting (OT)

On Sat, Jun 24, 2006 at 06:34:24PM -0500, Woody Smith wrote:
> With new postings I will read from top to bottom. And if I just
> dropped in it would seem helpful to read previous content first, but
> I read on a regular basis. Since novel and intriguing content are
> what I seek, I keep my finger poised on the delete button. I
> appreciate not needing to scroll.

Most of the time, it's not necessary. The key is a careful judgement of
what's important to keep, and what isn't.

> Additionally I frequently use the list archives and appreciate top
> posting when I am attempting to follow a thread that may continue
> over numerous posts.

Hitting the archives means (on a Newt or many highly-efficient mail
clients) launching a whole new application to deal with a http request.
Again, mangement of context is the key. Continued top-posting over a few
exchanges ends up with people mailing around 30k and 40k emails to add a
few lines, with the rest ... well, it's trash. If someone's been
following a thread live, as it were, they're never going to read it, and
it's 30k of useless data on an eMate. Interleaved posting, on the other
hand, puts the author in charge of reviewing the context and stripping
out what's not necessary. And the emails then stay no bigger than they
need to be. Very few need the WHOLE backdrop in a given email; on a
mailing list, the participants have been following along all the way
anyway, and only need a quick reminder to recall what the conversation
is about.

-- 
When you have a thermic lance, everything looks like hours of fun.
                                       -- Christian Wagner in a.s.r
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