Good point, unfortunately context can include a thread up to that point, while not a problem with threaded clients, non-threaded text based clients can have a problem.[...snip...]
Only if the poster did not delete unnecessary text. If the poster followed normal list netiquette by deleting whatever text was not necessary either for direct context or as part of the reply, then the *only* text in the message will be text which the poster thought you really needed to read (or reread).
If one, several, or many people do not trim, that is a problem. But it does not justify changing everyone else's behavior. Every community has its customs and traditions, people... if you value that community, then honor those rules. They are there for a reason, not just for kicks.
A community is a living organism that grows and evolves over time. The "original" rules (customs & traditions) you refer to were based on a text oriented USENET that hadn't even dreamed of the current "state of the web" with its browsers, search engines, mail/news clients, etc.
Consider communications between two people - At one point it was "customary" to have a messenger memorize a message to "send" to another person. Then it became "customary" to write the message out in longhand using India ink and parchment. The telegraph improved the speed of communication, but was hard to use. With the invention of the telephone, methods of communication evolved significantly, allowing people to actually "hear" the nuances of what the other person was trying to say. Now with cell phones, you can instantly send pictures and talk from just about anywhere to just about anywhere. You can even send e-mail via cell phones.
*Requiring* people to "trim" and "bottom-post" before you respond to them is a bit like *requiring* them to get a sheet of parchment and India ink and write it out long hand. You can do it if you want, but you risk being viewed as intolerant and focused on "form" over "content". Personally, I tend to ignore people who rant about "how" a person posts a question instead of attempting to provide additional information content to the discussion.
And before you get out your flame throwers and flame me as a newbie, I've been dealing with e-mail, mailing lists and newsgroups since before USENET & ARPA.NET were developed, back in the bbs & uucp days...
John
