top and bottom posting

[Graham Todd]

On Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:20:18 +0300
Rakotomandimby Mihamina <mihamina at gulfsat.mg> uttered these words:

> 09/10/2009 04:14 PM, Avi Greenbury:
> > I live in a country where everyone drives on the left[...]  
> 
> I'd agree with you only if using Internet requires a 'licence'
> (just like the driving licence, with an exam and so on.)
> Otherwise, your "driving example" is irrelevant to me.
[snipped]

I think you misunderstood what this poster was saying.  He did not say
that this situation required a licence, but there were Rules which
related to this list and, perhaps, different Rules which related to
other lists.

This is what the Rules on this actually say:

> Technical Guidelines
> Proper quoting
> 
> Proper quoting is very important on mailing lists, to ensure that it
> is easy to follow the conversation. There are four fundamental rules:
> 
>1. When replying to an email, ensure that the email which you are
> replying to is indented with a symbol such as > or | (this is usually
> done from the preferences of your email client - most should do this
> by default). 

>2. When quoting, attribute the quoted text to the person
> who wrote it (again, most email clients will do this by default). Be
> careful to attribute the correct text to the correct person. 

>3. Write your email underneath the email which you are replying to. 

>4. Tailor your reply to fit the text which you are replying to. Do not
> quote the whole of the previous email - remove any unnecessary text.
> To avoid confusion, it's often a good idea to replace removed text
> with a brief indication that something has been removed, like
> [snipped].

(http://www.ubuntu.com/support/community/mailinglists/etiquette)

What I understood the poster to mean is that there are Rules laid down
for the conduct of discussions on this mailing list, and one of those
Rules (Rule 3 above) is that a reply to a quote should come **after**
the text quoted.  In other words, I take the Rules on replying to
previous replies and comments in a thread mean "if you wish to engage
in discussion over any matter raised in this list, you should bottom
post and not top post." Rule 3 is unequivocal in its wording, and its
not given as "guidance".

I think it entirely relevant to you, and your involvement on this list,
to follow these Rules.

Now, you can discuss whether you think this is an appropriate Rule it
seems to me, but the Rule remains until it is changed.  I am one of
those who takes the view that Rules/laws/sanctions shouldn't be in
place unless they are going to be enforced, so perhaps this thread will
raise the profile of this issue among 'the powers that be' to decide
whether it should be a Rule that is enforced or be just guidance as to
the correct conduct.

-- 
Graham Todd