Re: [Evolution] Proposal: to eliminate the digest option for the Evolution mailing list

[Patrick O'Callaghan <poc usb ve>]

On Sun, 2017-03-19 at 10:19 +0100, Ralf Mardorf wrote:
> On Sun, 19 Mar 2017 02:34:26 -0600, Anton W. Schenker wrote:
> > (and preferably *not* top posted, although I have sadly given up on
> > that...Thanks Microsoft Outlook and Gmail and Yahoo mail)
>
> When I needed to use Outlook express (I never used Outlook), I wasn't
> forced to top post. I have got Yahoo/Rocketmail accounts. The
> Yahoo/Rocketmail web interface doesn't force to top post. Most computer
> users simply prefer top posting, the blame is on them, at least not on
> Outlook express and Yahoo and I doubt that Outlook or the Gmail web
> interface or mobile apps for Yahoo and Gmail enforce top positing.
> You can't blame software, or web interface design for user preferences.

I'm afraid I completely disagree here. The "preference" for top-posting 
is *ENTIRELY* due to it being the default mode in Outlook, which for
many users was the first email client they encountered. Other late
arrivals, including the various webmails, simply followed what was then
the established "standard". The fact that this was contrary to common
sense and long-standing Internet practice is merely evidence of
Microsoft's cavalier attitude to anything not invented by themselves.
The brilliant idea of allowing email to have executable content is
another one of theirs.

(I know MS have since changed in some respects since those days, but
the damage has been done).

poc