[nylug-talk] Re: Top-Posting

[H. G.]

I'm top-posting, I'm top-posting! Come get me!
**runs**

On 11/30/06, George Bourozikas <george at bourozikas.net> wrote:
>
> On Thursday 30 November 2006 13:53, Allen Shaw wrote:
> > Ron Guerin wrote:
> > >Top-posting will however cause no small number of people to not want to
> > >devote time to replying.
> >
> > I often miss the obvious, so please don't mind if I ask: Why is it so
> > much more difficult or more unpleasant to reply to a top-posted message?
>
> It's sacrilegious, that's why.  No, seriously: all arguments against top
> posting make sense if you are trying to understand a thread by reading a
> single message; if you are one of the participants you probably don't need
> to
> go back and read what you said, so top-posting actually makes sense.  Plus
> I
> don't find the paradigm flip-flop all that painful that it would merit
> 1,003,000 (top posting) + 485,000 (top-posting) Google hits.  And I am
> about
> to add to that as soon as I hit "send."
>
> I started using e-mail in 1982 when top posting was a capital offense (The
> quartered top posters!  The heads on stakes!  The tar and feathers!  The
> horror!  The horror!) and I'd probably lose my sleep for days if I ever
> top
> posted but I have to admit that I've seen perfectly meaningful exchanges
> in
> top posting style.  Please don't tell anyone that I said that.
>
> [Question for "The Ethicist:" what do you do if you are the 5th
> interlocutor
> in a top-posted thread?  Do you
>
> (a) spend quality time in your editor of choice - I am not opening _that_
> can
> of worms, no sir - switching things around,
>
> (b) do the "right thing" and start a flame war or
>
> (c) top post yourself and go practice some self-flagelation, like
> installing
> PHP5 in Apache 2, to borrow from another thread?]
>
> From a practical standpoint though, Ron is right.  There are people who
> just
> plain won't respond to your message if you top post, as a matter of
> principle.  Many of them tend to be talented at what they do and may just
> save your day if they choose to respond.
>
> Caveat emptor.
>
> --george
>
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