[... much stuff snipped...]
I concur with what you say above. However, the one thing that those who argue for top posting fail to address it the fact that communication is ALWAYS sequential. I have yet to be impressed by the ability of someone to answer a question that has not been asked yet. We are not mind readers, nor are we able to travel through time to find out what problems are occurring in the future so we can solve them now.
The same applies to any communication. Information out of context and in reversed sequence is at best confusing. Top posting tends to put it "out of context".
As many others have said, those who 'always' top post will frequently get ignored by many who would otherwise help (myself included).
Each can do as they choose, but the fit and acceptance within the
community is determined by how well the individual conforms to the
"norm" for that community.
I'm not arguing for or against top posting, or bottom posting. I arguing against blind adherence to custom and tradition. The key to all of this is clear communications. If I am replying to something specific you said, then it is appropriate to bottom post & insert as needed. If I'm providing more general information that simply references what you have said, then top posting is just as appropriate and in many cases makes the communication clearer. If you can see the intent of the message when you open it, great (significant trimming, bottom posting, insertions, etc). If you have to scroll through endless pages of untrimmed posting just to get to a 1 line "I agree", or "Good Point", or even "Oops, the correct URL is..." then perhaps bottom posting is not the way to go.
People should be able to use their judgement as to what method best communicates what they have to say.
John
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