The problem with top-posting is not so much the
top-posting itself,
it is
what it generally goes along with: copying the entire text of the
article
being replied to, and not being specific about what you're replying
to.
Those are the problems, then, not whether the reply went above or
below the quoted text.
Generally, one should be including only enough context
to make it
obvious
what's being answered.
-Matt
Well, sure (at least in mailing list or forum situations where people
can be assumed to be following a thread, or to go back to see what
was being referred to).
To tell the truth, I hardly ever notice whether people have top-
posted or bottom-posted.
As long as it's present as a matter of preference, and the emphasis
is put on being helpful to readers, I don't have any issues.
What I object to is the frequent _flaming_ of people for top-posting,
and to the inaccurate claim that top-posting is considered a major,
important faux pas in all Internet discussions at all times. Top-
posting is like splitting an infinitive. Some people hate it, and
some of the people who hate it can give you good reasons, but it's a
matter of taste and style, not a universally accepted or important
rule of grammar.
--
Daniel P. B. Smith, dpbsmith(a)verizon.net
"Elinor Goulding Smith's Great Big Messy Book" is now back in print!
Sample chapter at
http://world.std.com/~dpbsmith/messy.html
Buy it at
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1403314063/