O
Overlord
All well and good.
But if I'm reading thru a thread that has 20 replies, I have no
slightest intention of clicking on each post and scrolling past every
other post to get to a reply. With bottom posting, each post I click
on I have to scroll past each post I've already read.
When I click on the second post I have to scroll past the first post,
which I've already read.
By the time I get to the 5th post, I have to scroll past the first
post, which has come up now 5 times, the second post which has come up
4 times, the third post which has come up 3 times, the fourth post
which has come up 2 times, to get to the fifth post which is what I'm
trying to read.
On a thread with 2 dozen posts, it gets too tedious for words.
I generally top post unless I'm either addressing a series of specific
questions; in which case I may middle post; or if the post I'm
responding to is very short; or if there is a specific reason to
bottom post (rare but occasional).
Also, my Free Agent, for whatever reason doesn't like my scrolling
buttons on my mouse much. Generally I have to click the post and move
to the scroll bar to scroll down. I'm commenting on threads; not
writting a book....
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But if I'm reading thru a thread that has 20 replies, I have no
slightest intention of clicking on each post and scrolling past every
other post to get to a reply. With bottom posting, each post I click
on I have to scroll past each post I've already read.
When I click on the second post I have to scroll past the first post,
which I've already read.
By the time I get to the 5th post, I have to scroll past the first
post, which has come up now 5 times, the second post which has come up
4 times, the third post which has come up 3 times, the fourth post
which has come up 2 times, to get to the fifth post which is what I'm
trying to read.
On a thread with 2 dozen posts, it gets too tedious for words.
I generally top post unless I'm either addressing a series of specific
questions; in which case I may middle post; or if the post I'm
responding to is very short; or if there is a specific reason to
bottom post (rare but occasional).
Also, my Free Agent, for whatever reason doesn't like my scrolling
buttons on my mouse much. Generally I have to click the post and move
to the scroll bar to scroll down. I'm commenting on threads; not
writting a book....
The problem with top posting is that it is convenient only if the person =
reading the thread does so post by post, as you implied.
Unfortunately, many people are forced to use inferior NNTP servers that =
either lose posts or have atrocious retention.
Some don't have the money to pay for the use of a commercial NNTP =
server, others use ISPs that block ports, etc.
In short, the assumption is (still) that whoever reads your post, may =
not have easy access (if at all) to the whole thread.
That is why we quote - to provide the context necessary to understand =
our posts.
Now the problem with top posting becomes obvious:
If everybody uses bottom posting, the post reads naturally, like a =
dialog from a book page. It is easy to follow and easy to understand =
who said what in response to whom.
On the contrary, if you top post, the flow becomes unnatural. You must =
go down to the bottom of the post, scan up to find the beginning of the =
first post, read down to the end, scan up to find the beginning of the =
second post, read down to the beginning of the first post, scan up to =
the beginning of the third post, read down to the beginning of the =
second post, etc...
That's why top posting is disrespectful. You make reading harder on the =
people who don't have the resources to get the whole thread.
Best regards,
Alex
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Please replace myrealbox with alexoren to reply by email.
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