Top Posting Protocol For Microsoft Software

[D. Spencer Hines]

Microsoft has employed the Top Posting Protocol for Outlook Express and
Windows Live Mail -- and presumably for Outlook as well. I don't use
Outlook, yet.

[Although WLM offers a choice of Top or Bottom Posting...]

I think it's definitely the Right Way To Go.

Put the New Material at the TOP.

Saves time and effort for witting, alert, intelligent readers.

But will Microsoft have the courage to continue to endorse Top Posting in
the face of so many outcries from Yahoo Bottom Posters?

Let's Hope So...

 

[Bruce Hagen]

<QP>
Microsoft has employed the Top Posting Protocol for Outlook Express and
Windows Live Mail
</QP

Care to cite where you read that?

 

[F.H. Muffman]

Microsoft has employed the Top Posting Protocol for Outlook Express

and Windows Live Mail -- and presumably for Outlook as well. I don't
use Outlook, yet.

[Although WLM offers a choice of Top or Bottom Posting...]

I think it's definitely the Right Way To Go.

Put the New Material at the TOP.

Saves time and effort for witting, alert, intelligent readers.

But will Microsoft have the courage to continue to endorse Top
Posting in the face of so many outcries from Yahoo Bottom Posters?

Let's Hope So...

<QP>
Microsoft has employed the Top Posting Protocol for Outlook Express
and
Windows Live Mail
</QP
Care to cite where you read that?

And how was that original post anything but an attempt to start the traditional
top vs. bottom posting flame war?

 

[VanguardLH]

D. Spencer Hines wrote:

NOTE: The following UNRELATED newsgroups were omitted from my reply
regarding Outlook (replies regarding OE and WLM were sent separately to
these other groups):
- microsoft.public.outlookexpress.general
- microsoft.public.windows.inetexplorer.ie6_outlookexpress
- microsoft.public.windows.live.mail.desktop

Microsoft has employed the Top Posting Protocol for Outlook Express and
Windows Live Mail -- and presumably for Outlook as well. I don't use
Outlook, yet.

Not an issue with Outlook since Outlook doesn't do newsgroups which is
where top- versus bottom-posting is an issue.

<snip - other comments about posting *style* not relevant to Outlook>

 

[Earle Horton]

One thing we have learned from this fellow in
microsoft.public.windows.live.mail.desktop is "Don't feed the troll." This
posting is a public service.

Cheers,

Earle

 

[D. Spencer Hines]

Top Posting is Sound Theory...

No Doubt About That...

Does OUTLOOK also position the cursor at the top for replying to incoming
emails -- by default?

 

[F.H. Muffman]

Does OUTLOOK also position the cursor at the top for replying to

incoming emails -- by default?

Email != newgroups.

Yes, email messages in Outlook have the cursor put at the top of the message.

http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1855 does not clarify whether top posting or
bottom posting is good ettiquette for email, only speaking to newsgroups.

 

[D. Spencer Hines]

Well...

Then that's a Good Thing...

That OUTLOOK positions the cursor at the TOP for emails.

Well Done...

 

[Peter Foldes]

Long time Troll and I did say so when he started posting again in the beginning of
last year

--
Peter

Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others
Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged.

One thing we have learned from this fellow in
microsoft.public.windows.live.mail.desktop is "Don't feed the troll." This
posting is a public service.

Cheers,

Earle

Microsoft has employed the Top Posting Protocol for Outlook Express and
Windows Live Mail -- and presumably for Outlook as well. I don't use
Outlook, yet.

[Although WLM offers a choice of Top or Bottom Posting...]

I think it's definitely the Right Way To Go.

Put the New Material at the TOP.

Saves time and effort for witting, alert, intelligent readers.

But will Microsoft have the courage to continue to endorse Top Posting in
the face of so many outcries from Yahoo Bottom Posters?

Let's Hope So...

 

[D. Spencer Hines]

Nonsense...

This is an...

Important...

Ongoing...

Issue...

That is still being worked out by...

Microsoft...and

Consumers.

Therefore...

It deserves...

Serious Discussions...

Not Petulant Dismissal.

 

[Gordon]

Put the New Material at the TOP.

Saves time and effort for witting, alert, intelligent readers.

So you read a book from the bottom up?

 

[VanguardLH]

D. Spencer Hines wrote ...

So you read a book from the bottom up?

Careful. Many that proselytize top-posting do flip to the couple of
pages of the last chapter. They're too lazy to provide context.
They're too lazy to snip. They're too lazy to maintain the same order
in the quoted posts as they use as their own posting style. They're not
just ignorant. They choose to be lazy. The Microsoft-cosm is the
entire realm of their computing and Usenet experience. To them, Unix is
probably a one-horned white horse or a poor bloke missing his balls.

 

[Gordon]

To them, Unix is probably a one-horned white horse or a poor bloke missing
his balls.

ROTFL!

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

I think it's definitely the Right Way To Go.

Put the New Material at the TOP.

Top- or bottom-posting is almost religious. Do you read your books
backward, starting at the last page and continuing to the first? No, you
need prior context to understand what comes after and that's what bottom
posting gives. The biggest flaw in bottom posting is that people don't trim
adequately to maintain a context yet keep the message size reasonable
(unlike me <wink>). That's an even bigger flaw in top posting: no one ever
trims anything. I install add-ins to both Outlook and my newsreader that
reformat the default top posting into a bottom post. Even were I to not use
these add-ins, I'd take the time to reformat manually to a bottom post.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

Care to cite where you read that?

No need to cite it. All one need do is to reply in either Outlook, Outlook
Express, or the default configuration of Windows Mail.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

Top Posting is Sound Theory...

No Doubt About That...

Even sounder is to include a portion of the message to which you think
you're replying in your response. We have no idea otherwise what you're
addressing. Since you're using Outlok Express, that's easily configured.
Please do that.

Does OUTLOOK also position the cursor at the top for replying to incoming
emails -- by default?

Yes, but I dislike it. Bottom posting is sound theory. <grin>

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

Nonsense...

This is an...

Important...

Ongoing...

Issue...

Unneeded line breaks as well. Now you're really starting to violate even
the basics of message writing.

 

[Bruce Hagen]

Understood, but I do not consider that as a *protocol*.
--

Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA

 

[D. Spencer Hines]

Newsgroup posts and books have nothing in common.

Entirely Different Media...

False Analogy...

 

[D. Spencer Hines]

No...

Bottom posting is for dullards who generally have poor memories, are often
careless, undisciplined readers and who need to be spoon fed like babies.

Microsoft got it right.