Reply on top or bottom: Was "In" the field or "On" the field

Subject: Reply on top or bottom: Was "In" the field or "On" the field
From: Kathleen Frost <frostdoc -at- EARTHLINK -dot- NET>
Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 13:13:37 -0400

Ed Gregory wrote:
>>The socially accepted standard method for replying to email is to put your
>>response at the top, followed by a snippet or summary of the original.
>>This is because anybody following the thread has already seen the
original.
>>Burying your reply at the bottom, like this, forces many people to reread
material they''ve already read or hit the DELETE key.

I have to disagree. I see about the same number of messages both ways. Not
enough of one method or the other for one to be considered "socially
acceptable." Snippets or summaries are either in quotes or marked with
angle brackets (>>) so it is quickly obvious that the material set off is
from the original message.

On my other lists, the "snippet" is almost always listed first (more of a
personal preference than any list wide preference) so everyone knows what
previous post you are replying to. Of course, on those lists, there are
subject tags, like CHAT, TOOLS, GENRE, etc. to help you filter your messages
during download, or to allow a sort by subject, so you can decide if you
want to bother with the thread.

Kathy Frost
FrostDoc -at- Earthlink -dot- Net

From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=


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