Why reply at the bottom of posts?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ITinerant
  • Start date Start date
"Mike Hall said:
Then you have to scroll back if it is a long answer.. nooooooooo way.. :-)
Click to expand...

No, you don't. Press Ctrl-Home to get to the top of the message
instantly. BTW, those characters work in most windows, not just
Outlook Express.

I'll tell you a reason that I prefer bottom posting, Mike. Your reply
has the "-- " line before your signature. When I reply to your
message using Agent, it automatically removes everything below the
signature line. Unfortunately, that removes the original message and
every reply except yours, too. I have to press Ctrl-A (Select All)
before replying.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
 
ITinerant said:
Hi,
I'm just curious as to why so many replies are under the original post
instead of at the top?
Personally I find this annoying to have to scroll to the bottom to see the
latest reply.
In fact, I usually go on to the next post when I'm just lurking.

What news reader are folks using that does this?

This isn't meant to be a mean spirited question.
Click to expand...

Because most news servers delete posts based on date, so if you find a
reply to a post that you haven't read, it makes a lot more sense to have
replies underneath so the conversation flows in some sort of logical order.

If you've ever had to use Google Groups to research something, you will
appreciate how helpful it is when people reply at the bottom.

I think it's just a case of getting used to a particular format. You'll
notice that hardly any web based forums place the replies above, because
it's such a stupid idea. Email is different, because there are usually
less replies between more than one person, so I stick to top replies
with email.
 
Detlev

The answer does follow the question when top posting, assuming that one has
read the previous post..
 
Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\) said:
The answer does follow the question when top posting, assuming that
one has read the previous post..
Click to expand...

That's correct, Mike - but that's somewhat cumbersome also. And this
may not work if the newsreader is configured to show unread messages
only.
 
However, if you are the original poster, you already know your question and
are waiting for the answer?
Click to expand...

But this isn't email and this isn't a 1:1 type system, this is a
1:100000000 type system. Many Usenet systems expire articles before some
users get a chance to read them - and having the relevant part a person
is replying to at the top (snipped properly) and then the reply at the
bottom or inline, makes the reading flow properly.

You don't read a book from last page to first page, the same is true
here.

Many Usenet users, thank to MS, don't have a clue that this isn't email,
that this is public, that articles expire, that they are posting a
message to zillions of people.
 
Detlev

The answer does follow the question when top posting, assuming that one has
read the previous post..
Click to expand...

And therein lies the problem - if you understand usenet you would know
that posts (articles) expire at different times on different servers.

So, as an example - a person posts a problem on Jan 1, 2005. They get no
responses and in July 2005 a googler replies without including any of
the post, so, now we have a reply with no understanding of what the
reply is about. Same is true for top posting, you reply in July 2005,
but the original article has expired on all the servers except google
(which most people don't use) and you have to page down to see what the
problem was then page up to read the response because it's out of order.

Look at it like reading a page of a book, or like chapters in a book,
you don't start at the end and read backwards.
 
That's correct, Mike - but that's somewhat cumbersome also. And this
may not work if the newsreader is configured to show unread messages
only.
Click to expand...

Good catch, I've always had my Usenet client only display Unread Posts,
I never wanted to see all the ones I had read already or the ones that I
had marked as read/cleared.
 
Leythos

I use OE and keep posts for no longer than 5 days in the public groups.. I
flag all that I answer or where I am interested in how something is answered
by another.. read and unread are all showing.. I have found that posts are
rarely active for more than 5 days, and many do not last even close to
that.. so I don't really care if posts are dropped in other systems.. I
would not know about it anyway because of my modus operandii here.. :-)

Quote: Look at it like reading a page of a book, or like chapters in a
book, you don't start at the end and read backwards. <end>

You are absolutely right in the above, but then again, I don't join a book
in the middle and hope that there is enough info to save me having to start
at the very beginning..
 
Leythos

I use OE and keep posts for no longer than 5 days in the public groups.. I
flag all that I answer or where I am interested in how something is answered
by another.. read and unread are all showing.. I have found that posts are
rarely active for more than 5 days, and many do not last even close to
that.. so I don't really care if posts are dropped in other systems.. I
would not know about it anyway because of my modus operandii here.. :-)

Quote: Look at it like reading a page of a book, or like chapters in a
book, you don't start at the end and read backwards. <end>

You are absolutely right in the above, but then again, I don't join a book
in the middle and hope that there is enough info to save me having to start
at the very beginning..
Click to expand...

Mike - In all your time here I can't believe that you've always entered
a thread at the start and never joined one in the middle. If that's the
case you've not been on Usenet very long. I don't get paid to sit around
and monitor the groups, but I have my systems setup to show only new
articles and scan for ones that I've participated it as well as ones
that catch my eye - since I may have marked a entire group as read
without reading every post, sometimes I find a thread that I missed
before - it would be a total PITA to have to go back and pull the thread
or to have to scan google for the start.

There are a few groups where Top Posting is normal (like HTML also), but
MS really f'd it up when they didn't create a quality Usenet client and
let people come into Usenet with a cheap email client.
 
Leythos

I only ever keep public posts for 5 days.. in that period of time, the only
postings that grow quickly are where people are arguing.. I try to avoid
posts where there are a large number of threads, and I remember the ones
that interest me.. and I never scan Google groups or look back for anything
other than what I have flagged.. I also think that if one reads threads
starting with the original post, there is a better chance of getting a full
picture.. sometimes, the threads in between lack info that may have been
pertinent because of careless snipping.. of course, doing it this way leads
to much frustration when I have to scroll down to the lower portion of each
thread.. :-)

Re. Usenet, I have been around for a long time under various guises and from
a variety of locations, but who cares.. I adapted to using OE, and
regardless of old Usenet rules, I use it in a way that suits me while still
helping those who ask for it.. is that not what newsgroups are all about?..
standing on ceremony all of the time holds progress back..

If I had my way, I would do away with web based newsgroups and have
everybody use OE or similar as their newsreader..
 
Bruce said:
There you go. You let the secret out. <VBG>

Too bad there wasn't an automatic <snipper>.

I'm not against bottom posting, but when your finger goes numb from
scrolling, well.........
Click to expand...

Get a better mouse.

--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
http://microscum.com/mscommunity
"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei"
 
Inline is best when replying to more than one sentence/question in a
post. That way those that read your replies will be able to understand
what you are replying to, instead of having to assume which of your
comments was in reply to which of your sentence/questions.

That is your right.


Again, your right, but you may have just missed some kernel of wisdom,
just because you don't like how a response is formatted.

Personally, I think people that react to style over substance are fools.


I use OE.

And this isn't meant to be a mean-spirited response.

--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
http://microscum.com/mscommunity
"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei"
 
ITinerant said:
Hi,
I'm just curious as to why so many replies are under the original post
instead of at the top?
Click to expand...

Inline is best when replying to more than one sentence/question in a
post. That way those that read your replies will be able to understand
what you are replying to, instead of having to assume which of your
comments was in reply to which of your sentence/questions.
Personally I find this annoying to have to scroll to the bottom to
see the latest reply.
Click to expand...

That is your right.
In fact, I usually go on to the next post when I'm just lurking.
Click to expand...

Again, your right, but you may have just missed some kernel of wisdom,
just because you don't like how a response is formatted.

Personally, I think people that react to style over substance are fools.
What news reader are folks using that does this?
Click to expand...

I use OE.
This isn't meant to be a mean spirited question.
Click to expand...

And this isn't meant to be a mean-spirited response.

--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
http://microscum.com/mscommunity
"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei"
 
Mike said:
Pray tell, what could be wrong with a $5 mouse.. :-)
Click to expand...

Nothing, but you get what you pay for.

My mouse has a scroll up button above the scroll wheel, and a scroll
down button below the wheel. When I want to scroll fast, I use the
buttons, and use the scroll wheel to scroll as I read. My mouse has an
Alt-Tab button below the scrolldown button, plus Back and Forward
buttons near where the thumb rests.

You wouldn't get that kind of funtionability with a $5 mouse, and you'd
have to spend alot of energy scrolling.

--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
http://microscum.com/mscommunity
"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei"
 
kurttrail said:
Get a better mouse.

--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
http://microscum.com/mscommunity
"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei"
Click to expand...

I can click the mouse wheel and drag it down the page very quickly. My post
was only meant to be sarcastic. Surely you can see that. <g>

Bruce Hagen
 
Bruce said:
I can click the mouse wheel and drag it down the page very quickly.
My post was only meant to be sarcastic. Surely you can see that. <g>

Bruce Hagen
Click to expand...

And so was mine.

--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
http://microscum.com/mscommunity
"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei"
 
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