Re: Hijack!

Well said Greg. I have the same problem too of having a crippled mail
reader :) Really I find mid posting hard to follow especially if I'm
the one that posted the question. I hope we aren't going to hit people
with hammers over this minor infraction. It really makes one feel
unwelcome.

I guess we have beaten this horse enough though.

________________________________

From: pgsql-general-owner(at)postgresql(dot)org
[mailto:pgsql-general-owner(at)postgresql(dot)org] On Behalf Of Gregory
Williamson
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 12:04 PM
To: Joshua D. Drake; rod(at)iol(dot)ie
Cc: pgsql-general(at)postgresql(dot)org
Subject: Re: [GENERAL] Hijack!

-----Original Message-----
From: pgsql-general-owner(at)postgresql(dot)org on behalf of Joshua D. Drake
Sent: Tue 12/11/2007 9:43 AM
To: rod(at)iol(dot)ie
Cc: pgsql-general(at)postgresql(dot)org
Subject: Re: [GENERAL] Hijack!

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

On Tue, 11 Dec 2007 16:31:40 +0000
"Raymond O'Donnell" <rod(at)iol(dot)ie> wrote:

> > // >>>>
> > Please note in particular the following points of netiquette:
> >
> > * Don't top-post, as it makes for confusing reading.
> >
> > * Don't start a new thread by replying to an old one, because
[insert
> > suitable technical explanation here].
> >
> > Failure to observe the above may result in your question going
> > unanswered. // <<<<<
>
>
> O.k. this might be a bit snooty but frankly it is almost 2008. If you
> are still a top poster, you obviously don't care about the people's
> content that you are replying to, to have enough wits to not top post.
>
> However, I would also note that in "windows" world, it is very common
> to top post. I am constantly retraining very smart, just very ignorant
> customers.

* Not all mail clients deal well with inline/bottom quoting (manually
added "> " to lines here since my mail reader does not do so
automatically -- imagine doing so for a complex quote!)

* Top posting is very common in companies with lots of blackberry (etc)
users since they seem to see only tops easily.

* my mail client *always* starts at the top of the message. For
rapid/internal mails top posting works better because the answer/most
recent is always at the top. Complex messages do deserve in-posting but
not always easy, especially if you have to do it manually). Does your
mail browser always start at the bottom ? I always see the top of a
message first. Simple threads work very well this way -- complicated
ones collapse under top-posting.

* a lot of us have to use what ever the company provides as mail server.
Exchange sucks but I'd rather not quit my job just because _you_ have a
problem reading mail that does not conform to the "T" to your
expectations. And there is a limit to how much time I want to spend
manually formatting your mail to respond to it. Note that a lot of
postGIS mail list posts are top-posted and the complaint rate is
vanishingly small. Yet somehow business clanks on. Imagine that! And I
can't even use exchange/outlook -- web interface to Micro$soft really
sucks.

* Try to see the world from a perspective other that your own
(admittedly superior) one ! Not everyone is so advanced.

* Get a life -- how people post is _trivial_. *content* over *form* !
Beating dead horses is of no interest other than the inherent joy in the
thing. Deal with the fact that an open mail ist will have users from
*all* backgrounds and origins and it you can't make everything a fight.
Pick the most important battles. Top-posting is not the worst sin. (not
reading the manuals is the by the worst transgression, IMHO).

And for those who really care, email etiquette in painful detail here
<http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1855>. Hijacking seems to be more of a
Bozo No-No than top posting. Or maybe that's just me.

Greg Williamson
Senior DBA
GlobeXplorer LLC, a DigitalGlobe company

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