[Flafurs] e-mail communications etiquette

[Steve Rushing]

Scott Garron wrote:
> Amethe wrote:
>   
>> I should point out the first paragraph of this page outlines that 
>> these are only suggestions, not hard guidlines or protocol. Even 
>> giving the guidelines an RFC number is misleading.
>>     
>
>       Suggestions or hard guidelines or not, it's the only proper,
> logical way to do it.  All other ways are improper, highly wasteful, an
> eyesore, and difficult to follow, and inconsiderate.
>   
It's the only proper, logical way to do it?  By whose definition?  Those
who don't, like me, sometimes receive messages in incorrect order
because they're *not* getting their messages delivered to their mailbox
directly by the MTA running the list, and thus have no context or point
of reference for the reply when it contains no quoted post? 
>   
>> As always, the final say is with the community and personal choice, 
>> as well as what's proper at the moment.
>>     
>
>       It's never proper, at any moment, to waste server resources.  The
> final say is with the server owners and list moderators.
>   
You've got a point here.  So why don't you create a procmail filter to
scan and automatically bouncing all top posted messages, or something?
>   
>> Top-posting (that is, putting your reply before the quoted content) 
>> is often faster when replying to an entire message,
>>     
>
>       If one feels compelled to top post and quote an _entire_ previous
> message, including whitespace and signature lines, out of this
> "time-saving gesture" for themselves, not only is it selfish, it would
> be better if they just turn off quoting altogether in the e-mail client.
>   In other words, reply as Xan Steel does, and don't include any of the
> previous messages.  That's a much better approach than lazily hitting
> the reply button and not doing any proper trimming of quoted material.
Yep, because yet again, context in replies BAD!  Incomprehensible posts
GOOD!
>   
>> In truth, very few people have a preference or rather, are bothered 
>> enough by one method or another to care.
>>     
>
>       That's your opinion which is not based on any statistical research
> or factual figures.
>
>   
Yep, just as the other is your opinion.  So why not run a poll and ask
what the actual users have to say?  Does anyone else give a damn one way
or the other about top posting?  Or is the dear admin simply freaking
out because he couldn't force the anthrochat mailing list to post things
just how he wanted, and thus has to take out his annoyance on someone he
can more easily control?