The Right Way to Email - was Re: C & undefined behaviour - was Re: tumble under BSD

[Mike Stein]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mouse" <mouse at Rodents-Montreal.ORG>
To: <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Sent: Monday, April 04, 2016 10:48 AM
Subject: Re: The Right Way to Email - was Re: C & undefined behaviour - was Re: tumble under BSD


>> Flowed text and top-posting have become the norm in mainstream email
> 
> So have a lot of other horrible things, such as spam.  Popularity,
> especially mainstream popularity, is no measure of goodness, or we
> should all immediately switch to Windows on peecees.
> 
> I have no problem with flowed text - when done according to the spec, a
> spec which exists for good reason.  As for top-posting, I've already
> written about why I consider most instances of it arrogant rudeness
> (see my blah post at
> http://ftp.rodents-montreal.org/mouse/blah/2012-09-26-1.html) and have
> seen no reason to change that opinion.

------
... nor would I ever expect you to ;D

IMO the reason that flowed text and top posting have become the norm
is that many people (myself included) find them more efficient and clearer,
both reading and writing; obviously you and some others find the opposite
and I try to respect that in my posts to this list (although I don't feel that
my perspective gets much respect). They are personal preferences, and
your spam reference is just one of the straw men that seem to invariably
infest these discussions.

Mainstream popularity is not just the much-maligned Windows on PCs,
but also iOS and Android on smart phones and tablets, and the web-based
email that you also disparage is often the only option; if you don't want to
communicate with anyone using Gmail that is certainly your choice to make.

As I said, although I don't share it I do respect your perspective which is
presumably largely based on your particular choice of hard- and software;
what I object to is your judgment that top-posting is "arrogant rudeness."

It may not be the norm on this particular list, but if you were to periodically
ask that everyone follow your 'standards' on any other list where top-posting,
in-line posting, bottom-posting, flowed text and hard-wrapped text are all
equally valid and accepted and don't elicit periodic chastisement, then that 
probably _would_ be considered to be "arrogant rudeness"...

Potaytoes, potahtoes...

m