From: Phillip Gawlowski Date: 2008-05-28T04:28:54+09:00 Subject: Re: Top-posting -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Mark Wilden wrote: | I'm talking about how my mind works, and why I feel the way I do. I | think it's logical. If you think my statements aren't logical, please | say so. For example, you may think that when you read a post here, you | do not actually remember the previous post in the thread. I doubt that | very much, but it's possible. The answer to that is a resounding 'depends'. In 80% of cases, I have to refer to inline quotes (or, in the worst case, a preceding post), since I do not devote the majority of my brain cycles to email. At the moment, I have more attention diverted to email, since I am waiting for correspondence. There are weeks, though, where email (and IM, or any form of communication) is on the back burner, getting minimal attention, as it otherwise would distract me. I suspect, I'm not the only one who works that way. | "Everybody" doesn't think top-posting is an issue. Nor does "everybody" | consider bottom-posting a "standard." And I really don't know what | you're analogizing to with the phrase "it's all words anyway". Is anyone | here saying anything remotely like that? Yes, you are implying that. 'It's all the same to me', to paraphrase your stance. | My understanding of the term is where you argue about something in terms | that presuppose the issue has already been decided. See | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_question . But I'll amend my | criticism to "bare assertion." :) It's more than 'bare assertion', if those socialized with netiquette take the 'top-posting isn't the best way to use written correspondence on the web' ad here to this de facto standard. Of course, it is only etiquette. However, those that don't follow etiquette are seen as rude by those who don't follow the etiquette. Much like farting during dinner is, in the proverbial polite company, frowned upon. | Also, it's very tricky to use the | passive voice in this context. "Is considered rude" by whom? That's one | of the cruxes of this discussion. Let's see: a good chunk of the Monks of the Scary Devil Monastery, large parts of the Tom Clancy newsgroup (at least back when I was active there), and at least 2 people voicing their opinion in this very thread. this goes beyond 'bare assertion', but constitutes a trend. ;) - -- Phillip Gawlowski Twitter: twitter.com/cynicalryan Blog: http://justarubyist.blogspot.com ~ A voice crackles in Calvin's radio: ~ "Enemy fighters at two o'clock!" ~ "Roger. What should I do until then?" -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.8 (MingW32) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iEYEARECAAYFAkg8YTMACgkQbtAgaoJTgL/UnACcCas124Wb6Z6omTEbdISK8JkU UdgAniS651Ootsn9ndp2EzEfXW9x0XYX =SR1u -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----