Re: [Pan-users] Re: clearing headers?

[Steven D'Aprano]

On Sat, 4 Oct 2008 04:12:23 am Travis wrote:
> Linux defaults to HTML and top posting.  Shame shame on Linux.

Linux is an operating system, not a mail client. If you're going to 
pretend to be all superior and wise, shame on you for not knowing the 
difference.

And speaking of failing to follow accepted standards for email, if 
you're going to chastise others for breaking accepted standards, you 
better damn well make sure you're not breaking them yourself.

(1) Your replies are broken as you claim that your text is part of 
the "original message". Your reply follows the following format:

Header line: "----- Original Message ----- "
Selected headers from the original message
Quoted text of the original message
Your reply embedded at the bottom of the original message.

The original message was not quoted, why do you claim it was? Your 
response was not part of the original message, why do you claim it is?

(2) Bottom posting can be just as obnoxious as top posting, especially 
when you quote 38 lines of the original only to add a single line at 
the very end. That's known as a Metoobe, or "AOL! AOL!" from the habit 
of AOLers who reply to posts in their entirety only to add a single 
line (often "Me too!") at the end.

The polite thing to do is to trim the text you are replying to to remove 
extraneous text, leaving enough to establish context, and interleave 
your response between the lines you are replying to as if it were a 
conversation.


Having said all that, there's something to be said for the old rule that 
says that in polite society, the only unforgivable faux pas is to 
comment on somebody else's faux pas. A gentleman should be able to make 
himself at home in *any* society, even Verizon users or Usenet. (The 
rule didn't apply to ladies, who were imagined to be delicate little 
flowers, but the Victorians were funny like that.) So while I encourage 
you to do the right thing, it's not like the world will come to an end 
if you don't.


-- 
Steven