On 5/30/08, Ravi Jaya <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > On Thu, May 29, 2008 at 2:45 AM, Kenneth Gonsalves <[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > wrote: > > > and what does Yahoo search say about top posting? > > > > > no relevant match
among the plethora of links I got while I searched Yahoo for ["Top posting" mails] the following two observations may be instructive, especially for newcomers [of course, most of these observations must have been made already in this mailing list]: (a) an old mail sent 5 years back From: Mathias Bauer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Thu, 13 Feb 2003 10:39:07 +0100 if you are forwarding a private e-mail to somebody else, top posting is the best choice. But if you are participating in a public discussion (on a mailing list or in a newsgroup), the mails should try to resemble a "real" discussion as close as possible. And that's the reason why I prefer "in betweenposting" (b) from our good friend widipedia Inline replying style (or "interleaved reply", "point-by-point rebuttal", though it is sometimes also called "bottom-posting") was the original Usenet<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet>standard invented and used years before the existence of the WWW <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWW> and the widespread public use of email <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email> and the Internet<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet>in general. [16]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_posting#cite_note-interleave_standard-15>It is a format that can include "top-posting" for comments that need to precede one's response to specific points of what is being responded to. It can also include "bottom-posting" for introducing new material or summarizing what has been said in response to specific points of the text being replied to. My addl comments : 1) I tend to follow Mathias Bauer's prescription, and prefer "inbetween" or "inline" posting most of the time. 2) Most importantly, I would like to chop off as much of the original post and retain only a few lines to maintain continuity of the discussion. 3) Being in a mailing list for discussions, we can avoid top posting. But WE NEED NOT shoot off a mail for every top posting, especially when it does not affect the flow of discussions. If one feels so strong, a mail to the sender -- off the list -- should do. Srinivasan, NRCFOSS. _______________________________________________ To unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe <password> <address>" in the subject or body of the message. http://www.ae.iitm.ac.in/mailman/listinfo/ilugc
