Re: [Evolution] Problem with reply and other stuff (OT)

[David Woodhouse <dwmw2 infradead org>]

On Tue, 2003-02-11 at 00:15, Jeffrey Stedfast wrote:
> what was Mr David Woodhouse's supportive argument? It was that new users
> reply at the top... and that they should be LARTed or some other cute
> word.

My point was that email and usenet users have for decades been
disapproving of those who violate 'Netiquette' in many ways, and that
top-posting has long been considered one example of such a violation.

This is the current situation.

> if new users are top-posting, doesn't it then make sense that
> top-posting seems more intuitive? why yes, yes it does.

No, it's just that their email program put the cursor in the wrong place
when they replied to the mail. 

The story about the person who now religiously pages right down to the
end of the mail she's composing is true. If we could set the system up
so that new users get the cursor in a more useful place by default, she
would never have been chastised in the first place for top-posting, and
she wouldn't be entering text _under_ her signature now.

> but enough of that, the thread is no longer about who's way is right or
> wrong. it's impossible to get everyone to agree with any one way. so
> lets face it, there is no One True Way (tm).

I agree. Let's make it an option so that those wishing to conform to the
currently accepted practice on the majority of the Internet are able to
do so.

> with that in mind, where should the editor put the cursor when you first
> open the composer? 

The logical place to put it is where the user wants it to be put. Or
where their system administrator wants it to be put in the absence of
sufficient clue or care on the part of the user.

> there is only one place that makes sense and is the easiest for
> everyone - no matter what style post you are doing. and that position
> is at the top of the editor. this is the only logical place to put it.

I disagree for two reasons.

Firstly, that position encourages new users to top-post merely because
they don't _think_ about it, and just start typing without necessarily
even seeing where their text is going in relation to the quotation.

Secondly, because experienced users (or even relatively new users if
they've top-posted to a public forum and been flamed for violating
Netiquette) will very rarely want to enter text at the top of the mail
-- it's far more likely that they'll respond to short mails which they
reasonably quote in their entirety, and hence just want to type at the
bottom.

> we do not need an option for it.

That does not follow.

-- 
dwmw2