Re: [Hampshire] Benefits of top-posting?

On 23/11/2007, Dr Adam J Trickett <adam.trickett@???> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm not trying to start a flame war and I don't want to know about
> bottom or bottom/interleaved posting, but I'd like to know from
> people what are the actual benefits if any of top posting.
>
> Everyone at work top posts and it drives me mad trying to figure
> out what they are saying on complex emails, but everyone also says
> it's the norm, and question why I bottom post.

I hate to admit it but with work colleagues' mail if I need to respond
to an already-established top-heavy thread I will often just go along
with it for the sake of a quiet life. It's actually easier(*) than
trying to rearrange a thread and put it in 'proper' order.

>
> I can see the following:
>
> * It's easy for short answers where you are answering to the subject
> line, and there is pretty much no content.

Yes, and don'cha just love it when you see a one-line response quoting
a huge page of stuff, discalimers and all ...
>
> * It's lazy/easy because it's the default behaviour of Lookout.

It's also the default behaviour of Gmail and most ISP webmail
providers that I've come across.

I've tried mentioning it to my other half and she honestly doesn't get
it. It's a non-issue.

> * Everyone else does it: it's the convention.
>
> However I can't really see the point as it stands. The people who like
> to top-post what is the benefit to you, why do you do it?


... It's all that an increasing number of users have ever been exposed to.

... It devolves the effort from the writer to the reader.

[just noticing that others have been saying much the same in the time
I've been writing this...]