Re: [libreoffice-users] top- or bottom- quoting

Hi :)

No, i wasn't saying that anyone was deliberately unfriendly but i think we need 
to have better ways of dealing with top-posters because we often give an 
appearance of rudeness.

People that do top-post are unlikely to be aware that there is another way.  
Everyone they communicate with and everyone those people communicate with all 
top-post as Jean-Francois just agreed.  If they get an apparently empty email 
then they might well assume that it was a mistake.  Mistakes happen.  When 
triaging a stack of emails that becomes a "delete now or deal with later".  Why 
spend time looking for something that 'never happens'?  Why scroll to the bottom 
of a thread when  in all their experience that is only  ancient history?  On the 
other hand people that bottom post are usually aware that there is an 
alternative.

Any editing can change  the meaning or context of a previous posting, sometimes 
even reversing the meaning.  Keeping old posts is great for checking context if 
something seems odd about the latest post or if the thread is unfamiliar somehow 
= it is not meant to be read through each time but it is helpful if it is easily 
accessible.

Steve had a good point.  Some people use one method and other people use a 
different one.  There is surely enough room in this world for all.  We need to 
be good at dealing with top-posters but what exactly does that mean?  


Regards from
Tom :)





________________________________
From: Jean-Francois Nifenecker <jean-francois.nifenecker@laposte.net>
To: users@libreoffice.org
Sent: Wed, 16 February, 2011 17:28:34
Subject: Re: [libreoffice-users] top- or bottom- quoting


Hello Dave,

Le 16/02/2011 12:44, Tom Davies a écrit :
> Sadly we have to deal with the world as it is rather than the way we would 
like
> it to be.

Sure. Does this mean we won't try to educate them?

> Far more people use the wonderful MicroSoft products such as Outlook
> than use all the alternatives added together.

Indeed.

> Please can we try to be less unfriendly to people that are new in here?

Am I? Sorry if my message seemed like that, because it was not the intend.

>  Top
> posters (first timers asking questions) need to be responded to at the top of
> the thread.  Otherwise they might assume there was no answer in the reply.

If you read this very message, you can see that I've edited it in many pieces 
that are very likely to be noticed. I guess ;)

So, top- or bottom-posting is just a part of the "mail-user-education": editing 
the original message to get to the point is also very important. The sender must 
think he has to be read, and understood (otherwise what's the point at posting 
at all?). So eliminating the useless parts -- which are available upper in the 
thread anyway -- is a requirement.

> The first thing that most people see is the top of the email and
> almost all our responses fall into the "leave to later or delete 
straight-away"
> category.

This is what message editing is all about.

> Yes, they don't do thing 'our way'.  Obviously 'our way' is the only 'right 
> way'
> but that doesn't necessarily mean we don't want to help them.  Or does it?

No, of course. This is my point: bottom-posting + editing and, from time to time 
explaining. I don't think I ever ignored any message just because it was 
top-answered.


Cheers,
-- Jean-Francois Nifenecker, Bordeaux


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