[NTLUG:Discuss] Top Posting

[Allen Meyers]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chris Cox" <cjcox at acm.org>
To: "NTLUG Discussion List" <discuss at ntlug.org>
Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2008 1:15 AM
Subject: Re: [NTLUG:Discuss] Top Posting


> Robert Citek wrote:
>> What I find amusing is that using Linux is allegedly about the freedom
>> to choose and doing things sometimes a bit differently.  Yet, most
>> linux mailing lists (and this one's no exception) get into huge flame
>> wars and endless threads when people actually do choose to do things
>> differently.  That is, if you chose to differ too much, expect
>> ridicule until you conform to the group's way of being different. (cue
>> Life of Brian)  The take home message: it's ok to do things
>> differently as long you do things differently the same way as everyone
>> else.
>
> My take on this...
>
> We have a lot of (relatively) new folks that do not know
> anything about email/nntp style threaded discussion format.
>
> With that said, those people will likely top post (just a guess)
> because that's what most people do in the Microsoft owned
> post Internet era (these folks are more likely to prefer
> a "forum" over a "mail list").
>
> So... with that said, I think we need to be careful to not
> bash in the head of somebody who doesn't understand email/nntp
> style etiquette.  Not saying we can't teach them, we just
> need to try not to bash them.... there are many in the world
> today that don't know what a mail list or usenet newsgroup
> is.  Sad but true.
>
> So avoid top posting... do include attributions.... dates
> aren't as important as attribution indentation (just fyi).
>
> Feel free to snip out parts that don't concern your
> reply.  I just use ellipsis (...) but it's more appropriate
> to say snip... where content is removed.
>
> Freedom isn't the same thing as license... Freedom implies
> responsibility, license (licentiousness) does not.
>
> Oh... and I don't always follow proper etiquette rules
> either... so I do recommend we loosen up a bit :)
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> http://www.ntlug.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Robert:
How refreshing and absolutely "right on" I started the thread and after 
about the 15th or so reply I was truly sorry I had. At age 76 and new to 
Linux I really did not have a clue and was jumped on in another forum to 
such a degree I thought I would not be guilty of the same in this one. Now 
all of that being said I have got to say were it not for patient giving 
people like David who turned me on to http://wubi-installer.org/ I would not 
be enjoying the linux experience now. Hey what this thread taught me as well 
is we have folks who need to "get a life" my two cents
Allen