1033:
difficult or impossible to indicate which part of a message is the quoted original or do not let users insert comments between parts of the original. When replying to a plain text message with
Microsoft Outlook when configured to plain text mode however, Outlook properly uses Quoted line markers allowing for easy insertion of comments between parts of the original. Unfortunately however, the default mode is HTML and few users bother to change the default settings.
834:
488:, free e-mail service ads, and corporate disclaimers) are more likely to be deleted, usually without ellipses, than manually written text. Some posters may delete any parts of the original message that they are not replying to. Some posters delete only parts dealing with issues that they see as "closed", and leave any parts that, in their opinion, deserve further discussion or will be replied to in a later message.
935:
minimum. This style makes it easier for readers to identify the points of the original message that are being replied to; in particular, whether the reply misunderstood or ignored some point of the original text. It also gives the sender freedom to arrange the quoted parts in any order, and to provide a single comment to quotations from two or more separate messages, even if these did not include each other.
756:, are encouraged to use top-posting because the devices may only download the beginning of a message for viewing. The rest of the message is only retrieved when needed, which takes additional download time. Putting the relevant content at the beginning of the message requires less bandwidth, less time, and less scrolling for the user.
626:, where it is still used. The style became less common for email after the opening of the internet to commercial and non-academic personal use. One possible reason is the large number of casual e-mail users that entered the scene at that time. Another possible reason is the inadequate support provided by the reply function of some
931:
will be easily read by the intended recipient(s). Their e-mail interfaces may have different rules for handling quoted line markers and long lines, so a reply that looks readable in one's screen may be jumbled and incorrectly colored on theirs. Blank lines and judicious trimming of the original text may help avoid ambiguity.
137:
1036:
Yahoo! does not have the option "Quote the text of the original message" in Mail
Classic, but this setting is retained after turning it on in All-New Mail and then switching back to Mail Classic. Inline replying is broken in Microsoft Outlook, which despite choosing the setting to prefix each line of
946:
e-mail practices, in particular, often require that all points be addressed in a clear manner without quoting, while the original e-mail message may be included as an attachment. Including the whole original message may be necessary also when a new correspondent is included in an ongoing discussion.
934:
The interleaved reply style can require more work in terms of labeling lines, but possibly less work in establishing the context of each reply line. It also keeps the quotes and their replies close to each other and in logical reading order, and encourages trimming of the quoted material to the bare
744:
Top-posting can be problematic on mailing lists with ongoing discussions which eventually require someone to act on the top-posted material. For example, top-posting "Those changes look ok to me, go ahead and make them" can be very inconvenient, as readers may need to read through a long email trail
262:
A message often includes text from two or more messages exchanged in previous rounds of a long discussion. If an additional quotation marker is inserted at every round, without removing any existing markers, the number of markers at the beginning of each line will show the "level" of the reply, that
1023:
on this page), this is not so much of an issue any more. Another method to indicate that there is more reply text still to come is to always end your text with a signature line. Then a reader who is familiar with your reply style will know to continue to read until your signature line appears. This
970:
If you are sending a reply to a message or a posting be sure you summarize the original at the top of the message, or include just enough text of the original to give a context. This will make sure readers understand when they start to read your response. Since NetNews, especially, is proliferated
930:
The choice between interleaved, top and bottom posting generally depends on the forum and on the nature of the message. Some forums (such as personal e-mail) are quite tolerant, in which case the proper style is dictated by taste and effectiveness. In any case one should consider whether the reply
525:
On the other hand, in some situations, any trimming or editing of the original message may be inappropriate. For example, if the reply is being copied to a third person who did not see the original message, it may be advisable to quote it in full; otherwise the trimmed message may be misinterpreted
496:
Some style guides recommend that, as a general rule, quoted material in replies should be trimmed or summarized as much as possible, keeping only the parts that are necessary to make the readers understand the replies. That of course depends on how much the readers can be assumed to know about the
68:
For a long time the traditional style was to post the answer below as much of the quoted original as was necessary to understand the reply (bottom or inline). Many years later, when email became widespread in business communication, it became a widespread practice to reply above the entire original
1018:
The major argument against bottom-posting is that scrolling down through a post to find a reply is inconvenient, especially for short replies to long messages, and many inexperienced computer users may not know that they need to scroll down to find a reply to their query. When sending an untrimmed
771:
above it. Moreover, a bug present on most flavours of
Microsoft Outlook caused the quotation markers to be lost when replying in plain text to a message that was originally sent in HTML/RTF. For these and possibly other reasons, many users seem to accept top-posting as the "standard" reply style.
347:
Many mail agents will add these attribution lines automatically to the top of the quoted material. Note that a newly added attribution line should not get the quotation marker, since it is not part of the quoted text; so that the level indicator of the attribution line is always one less than the
962:
It is not uncommon during discussions concerning top-posting vs. bottom-posting to hear quotes from "Netiquette
Guidelines (RFC 1855)". While many RFCs are vetted and approved though a committee process, some RFCs, such as RFC 1855, are just "Informational" and in reality, sometimes just personal
92:
nature of
Internet communication, people often engage in many conversations at the same time, and email responses may be received long after the original message was sent. For these reasons, the original poster may not be aware of what message a post is intended to be a response to, and providing
719:
By contrast, excessive indentation of interleaved and bottom posting may turn difficult to interpret. If the participants have different stature such as manager vs. employee or consultant vs. client, one person's cutting apart another person's words without the full context may look impolite or
715:
Top-posting preserves an apparently unmodified transcript of a branch in the conversation. Often all replies line up in a single branch of a conversation. The top of the text shows the latest replies. This appears to be advantageous for business correspondence, where an e-mail thread can dupe
1032:
This widespread policy in business communication made bottom and inline posting so unknown among most users that some of the most popular email programs no longer support the traditional posting style. For example, Microsoft
Outlook (when replying to an HTML message), AOL, and Yahoo! make it
542:
In the interleaved reply style (also called "inline reply", "interlined reply", "point-by-point rebuttal", or, sometimes, "bottom posting"), the original message is broken into two or more sections, each followed by a specific reply or comment. A reply in inline style may also include some
263:
is, how many rounds have occurred since that line was written. These accumulated markers are usually sufficient to distinguish the parts that came from each message. Some email interfaces recognize this convention and automatically render each level in a different color. For example:
415:
discussions, quoted text from the original message is often trimmed so as to leave only the parts that are relevant to the reply—or only a reminder thereof. This practice is sometimes called "trim-posting" or "edited posting", and is recommended by some manuals of posting etiquette.
226:
Sometimes the insertion of a quoted line marker will cause one original line to be folded as two lines in the reply, and the continuation line may not have the proper marker. To avoid ambiguity in such cases, one may consider inserting blank lines after each block of quoted text:
279:
If the discussion is between two parties only, then an even number of markers (including zero) identifies text written by the sender, while an odd number of markers identifies text by the recipient. (In the above example even numbers are Joe's text and odd numbers are Mary's.)
805:> Whoa! Hold on. I have a job scheduled at 5:30 which mails out > a report to key tech staff. Could you push it back an hour? > > By the way, which systems will be updated? I had some network > problems after last week's update. Will I have to reboot?
963:
opinions. (Additional information on "Informational" RFCs can be found in RFC 2026, under "4.2.2 Informational" and "4.2.3 Procedures for
Experimental and Informational RFCs".) The nature of RFC 1855 should be considered while reading the following discussion.
790:
In the "bottom-posting" style, the reply is appended to a full or partial copy of the original message. The name bottom-posting is sometimes used for inline-style replies, and indeed the two formats are the same when only one point is being replied to.
419:
Sometimes an indicator of deleted text is given, usually in the form of a square bracketed tag as: "", "", or simply "". The text that is retained may be edited to some extent, e.g. by re-folding the lines. For example, if the original message was
1041:
look like part of the original. The workarounds are to use the setting "read all standard mail in plain text", or to use the "Edit
Message" option on the original email and convert it to plain text before replying (then discard the edited version).
1019:
bottom-posted message, one might indicate inline replies with a notice at the top such as "I have replied below." However, as many modern mail programs are capable of displaying different levels of quotation with different colors (as seen in the
958:
If the original message is to be quoted in full, for any reason, bottom-posting is usually the most appropriate format—because it preserves the logical order of the replies and is consistent with the
Western reading direction from top to bottom.
947:
Especially in business correspondence, an entire message thread may need to be forwarded to a third party for handling or discussion. On the other hand, in environments where the entire discussion is accessible to new readers (such as
812:
Bottom-posting, like inline replies, encourages posters to trim the original message as much as possible, so that readers are not forced to scroll past irrelevant text, or text that they have already seen in the original message:
975:
Interleaved reply combined with top-posting combines the advantages of both styles. However this also results in some portions of the original message being quoted twice, which takes up extra space and may confuse the reader.
120:
For extra clarity, blank lines may also be inserted between the two parts. When using an email medium that supports text markup (such as HTML or RTF), the previous text may be indicated by a distinctive font and/or color:
642:) essentially impose the bottom-post format, by displaying all recent messages in chronological order.. Interleaving continues to be used on technical mailing lists where clarity within complex threads is important..
213:, for instance, this behavior is controlled by an option labeled "Prefix each line of the original". Besides inserting markers automatically in quoted lines, some interfaces assume that a line starting with a "
767:, and others. By default, these programs insert into the reply message a copy of the original message (without headers and often without any extra indentation or quotation markers), and position the editing
971:
by distributing the postings from one host to another, it is possible to see a response to a message before seeing the original. Giving context helps everyone. But do not include the entire original!
1191:
999:
copy of any problematic e-mail, rather than a quote.) These forwarded messages are displayed in the same way as top-posting in some mail clients. Top-posting is viewed as seriously destructive to
1024:
method is particularly polite and useful when using the inline reply method, since it tells the reader that your response is complete at the point where your signature line appears.
599:>> My schedule for today will be: >> 10.00am: Gather data for report >> 2.00pm: Present report to team >> 4.30pm: Send out summary of feedback >> Jim
578:
The interleaved reply style can also be combined with top-posting: selected points are quoted and replied to, as above, and then a full copy of the original message is appended.
497:
discussion. For personal e-mail, in particular, the subject line is often sufficient, and no quoting is necessary; unless one is replying to only some points of a long message.
782:
Top-posting has always been the standard format for forwarding a message to a third party, in which case the comments at the top (if any) are a "cover note" for the recipient.
727:
informal discussions where everyone was an equal encouraged bottom-posting. Until the mid-1990s, posts in a net.newcomers newsgroup insisted on interleaving replies. Usenet
529:
Also, when replying to a customer or supplier, it may be advisable to quote the original message in its entirety, in case the other party somehow failed to keep a copy of it.
423:
This is a reminder that the project meeting which was canceled last week will be held today in the 3rd floor conference room at 14:30 sharp. Everybody must attend. --Mary
170:
There is no standard declaring one quote-prefix to be "right" and others to be "wrong", but some standards depend on conventional quoting. The "never issued" and obsolete
144:
A common convention in plain-text email is to prefix each line of the quoted text with a distinctive character or string. As of 2020 (and for many years previously), the
966:
According to RFC 1855, a message can begin with an abbreviated summary; i.e. a post can begin with a paraphrasing instead of quoting selectively. Specifically, it says:
1003:
digests, where multiple levels of top-posting are difficult to skip. The worst case would be top-posting while including an entire digest as the original message.
745:
to know which changes the top-poster is referring to. Inter-leaving the text directly below the text describing the changes is much more convenient in these cases.
801:>> I'm going to suspend the mail service for approx. thirty >> minutes tonight, starting at 5pm, to install some updates >> and important fixes.
741:
tolerated top-posting. Newer online participants, especially those with limited experience of Usenet, tend to be less sensitive to arguments about posting style.
1102:
1006:
Some believe that "top-posting" is appropriate for interpersonal e-mail, but inline posting should always be applied to threaded discussions such as newsgroups.
1012:
Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text. Why is top-posting such a bad thing? Top-posting. What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?
500:
In particular, when replying to a message that already included quoted text, one should consider whether that quoted material is still relevant. For example:
348:
corresponding text. Doing otherwise may confuse the reader and also e-mail interfaces that choose the text color according to the number of leading markers.
1199:
240:
Quoted line markers are most commonly used in plain-text messages. In HTML messages, other devices may be used to indicate quoted text, such as
107:
I can't believe you would say something like this. All these words are terrible. They're hurtful and they make no sense. -- DocEvil
88:
In an e-mail reply, it is sometimes appropriate to include a full or partial copy of the original message that is being replied to; due to the
1158:
1560:
76:
differs on which styles are appropriate or acceptable, within some communities the use of the "wrong" method risks being seen as a breach of
100:
Quoted text from previous messages is usually distinguished in some way from the new (reply) text. Often, the two parts are given different
1254:
711:
I'm going to suspend the mail service for approx. thirty minutes tonight, starting at 5pm, to install some updates and important fixes. Jim
1339:
689:
Whoa! Hold on. I have a job scheduled at 5:30 which mails out a report to key tech staff. Could you please push it back an hour? Danny
287:> Whoa! I need to email a report at 5:30. > Could you push it back an hour? --Danny > > At 9.40am Wednesday, Jim wrote: >
1490:
2015:
1178:
942:
in that the response is a single continuous text, and the whole original is appended only to clarify which letter is being replied to.
1639:
630:
readers, which either do not automatically insert a copy of the original message into the reply, or do so without any quoting prefix
198:" has a quote-depth of one, quoting a line starting with ">". Most e-mail clients treat the two sequences as equivalent, however.
1436:
1015:
Bottom-posting preserves the logical order of the replies and is consistent with the
Western reading direction from top to bottom.
563:> We do not have enough trained people on the West Coast. We have many > new employees but they do not know our products yet.
1138:
987:. An untrimmed quoted message is a weaker form of transcript, as key pieces of meta information are destroyed. (This is why an
622:
Interleaving was also common originally in e-mail, because many internet users had been exposed to Usenet newsgroups and other
575:
On the whole, I am quite optimistic. It looks like we will be shipping the basic system before the end of this quarter. Nancy
1583:
1677:
1037:
the original with the "greater-than" character (>) produces a blue line that makes answers inserted between quotes of an
898:
511:
The quote from Mary's message is relevant to Peter's reply, but not to Joe's reply. The latter could have been trimmed to
955:), full inclusion of previous messages is inappropriate; if quoting is necessary, the interleaved style is probably best.
870:
1739:
351:
Instead of an attribution line, one may indicate the author by a comment in brackets, at the beginning of the quotation:
61:(in which the reply precedes the quoted original message). For each of those options, there is also the issue of whether
378:, is to place the initials of the author before the quoting marker. This may be used with or without attribution lines:
316:
that identifies its author. These lines are particularly helpful in discussions between multiple parties. For example:
654:
style, the original message is included verbatim, with the reply above it. It is sometimes referred to by the acronym
403:
I agree with Peter. We need the sales data and also Nancy's performance figures. Let's meet next Friday after lunch.
341:
I agree with Peter. We need the sales data and also Nancy's performance figures. Let's meet next Friday after lunch.
1448:
596:> Also if you do the above, this may need to happen later too. > Danny > > At 9.40am Wednesday, Jim wrote:
1300:
917:
877:
759:
Top-posting is a natural consequence of the behavior of the "reply" function in many current e-mail readers, such as
117:--- original message --- You just had a call from England, from Paris I think. --Joe --- end of original message ---
1223:
367:
I agree with Peter. We need the sales data and Nancy's performance figures. Let's meet next Friday after lunch.
344:
This reply quotes two messages, one by Nancy (itself a reply to Peter) and one by Peter (itself a reply to Mary).
290:>> I'm going to suspend the mail service for approx. thirty >> minutes tonight, starting at 5pm. --Jim
97:) encourage this behaviour by automatically including a copy of the original message in the reply editing window.
2020:
820:
No problems. 6pm it is then. Basically, I will update our WWW server and firewall. No, you won't have to reboot.
1313:
It used to be taboo to reply at the top of a message ("top posting") until Microsoft made it the default setting
2305:
1961:
1410:
884:
855:
851:
167:") have been used as well, sometimes with one or more spaces inserted before or after the quoted text marker.
1632:
1485:
505:> > Perhaps, if we can get all the information we need. > Do we have the West Coast sales data yet?
979:
In forwarding it is sometimes preferred to include the entire original message (including all headers) as a
2025:
866:
480:
I disagree. The darker tone works well, once one understands the two are aimed at different audiences.
2010:
217:" character or similar is quoted text, and will automatically display it in a distinctive font or color:
1567:
1887:
1262:
818:> Could you push it back an hour? > which systems will be updated? > Will I have to reboot?
89:
2470:
1056:
988:
662:
reply style: as in the game show's signature clue/response format, the answers precede the question.
101:
2274:
1625:
1154:
1287:
2105:
1000:
844:
776:
1336:
1051:
992:
551:
comments that apply to the whole reply message, rather than to a specific point. For example:
1174:
104:. In the example below, the first paragraph is the original message, the second is the reply:
1667:
53:, in which the different parts of the reply follow the relevant parts of the original post),
1477:—third party utilities for automatically reformatting quoted text in Microsoft mail products
2410:
1709:
1105:
891:
1466:
8:
2342:
2337:
2262:
1941:
1662:
1356:
590:> Jim, I have a meeting at that time. Can you present your report an hour later? >
2465:
2435:
2257:
2081:
2061:
1774:
1729:
1704:
1430:
1009:
This example is occasionally used in mailing lists to mock and discourage top-posting:
768:
554:
I have been following the discussion about the new product line. Here are my thoughts.
296:
246:
1324:
1134:
2325:
2320:
2234:
2183:
1908:
1527:
1512:
1470:
1296:
1286:
Kennedy, Angus J.; Peter Buckley; Duncan Clark (October 2003). Andrew Dickson (ed.).
760:
734:, especially comp.lang.c and comp.lang.c++ insisted on the same as of the 2010s. The
210:
145:
73:
19:
For the practice of posting to raise the visibility of an Internet forum thread, see
809:
Basically, I will update our WWW server and firewall. No, you won't have to reboot.
2330:
2110:
1587:
1497:
1392:
943:
939:
728:
983:
attachment, while in top-posted replies these are often trimmed or replaced by an
503:>> Shall we meet this afternoon to discuss the >> marketing strategy?
2475:
2425:
2379:
2315:
2310:
2198:
2040:
1867:
1841:
1648:
1343:
1162:
1142:
749:
735:
485:
375:
94:
20:
2460:
2405:
2168:
2071:
1714:
1687:
623:
31:
1083:
2454:
2430:
2415:
2374:
2347:
2289:
2242:
2193:
2120:
1918:
1794:
1749:
1118:
658:("text over, fullquote under"). It has also been colloquially referred to as
38:, the original can often be included, or "quoted", in a variety of different
1923:
1789:
1543:
2269:
2247:
2188:
2135:
2035:
1956:
1799:
1744:
1734:
1452:
1061:
952:
241:
160:
775:
Partially because of Microsoft's influence, top-posting is very common on
2400:
2125:
1804:
1784:
1754:
1719:
1480:
1442:
1374:
136:
1544:"Email Etiquette: Courtesy #6 ~ Always Respond Promptly (and Down-edit)"
231:>The board is asking again for the sales data. We really must provide
171:
2252:
2208:
2155:
2130:
2115:
2030:
1913:
1877:
1836:
1038:
858: in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
753:
206:
77:
1603:
1474:
179:
153:
2384:
2367:
2203:
2178:
2140:
1989:
1951:
1946:
1892:
1862:
1779:
948:
412:
156:
prefix) is almost universally used; but other characters such as the
833:
573:
Peter, would you take charge of that? Let me know if you need help.
2362:
2279:
2213:
2145:
1966:
1933:
1872:
1857:
1769:
1699:
1672:
639:
616:
1617:
1439:—How to use quote using interleaved quoting instead of top-posting
2352:
2173:
2150:
1882:
1809:
1764:
1724:
1563:
1231:
627:
561:
That may not be a problem for now, we still have a quality edge.
397:
M>> We should meet today to discuss the marketing strategy.
371:
361:>> We should meet today to discuss the marketing strategy.
1285:
400:
P> Better wait, we do not have the West Coast sales data yet.
364:> Better wait, we do not have the West Coast sales data yet.
335:>> We should meet today to discuss the marketing strategy.
140:
Alternative e-mail quoting styles supported by Microsoft Outlook
2357:
2066:
1994:
1984:
724:
612:
604:
338:> Better wait, we do not have the West Coast sales data yet.
202:
35:
27:
938:
Top- and bottom-posting are sometimes compared to traditional
1759:
764:
273:> > Sorry Joe, I need it by 11:00 at the latest. --Mary
234:> them with some figures. How is the report coming? --Mary
157:
80:, and can provoke vehement response from community regulars.
460:
Deleted text may also be replaced by a summary in brackets:
2284:
2076:
2056:
980:
635:
583:
Yes I can. The summary will be sent no later than 5pm. Jim
1027:
1976:
1561:"Re: Joe jobs - was Re: Victim of Spam-Trap addresses..."
1528:"Mailing and Posting Etiquette: Post In-line for Context"
1122:
608:
270:>> >> It will be on your desk by noon. --Joe
65:
of the original text is allowed, required, or preferred.
434:
the project meeting will be held today in the 3rd floor
276:
OK, but it will be missing this month's figures. --Joe
205:
newsgroups by 1990, and is supported by many popular
128:
Has the deadline for the report been moved too? --Joe
1295:(2004 ed.). London: Penguin Books. p. 241.
469:
The movie clearly adds a sense of menace to the story
209:, either by default or as a user-settable option. In
125:
The meeting has been postponed to next Friday. --Mary
69:
and leave it (supposedly untouched) below the reply.
823:
634:. Finally, most forums, wiki discussion pages, and
607:
discussion lists, years before the existence of the
603:
Interleaving was the predominant reply style in the
566:
We can bring them here for a crash training course.
456:
Mary, be sure to check the mics in that room. --Joe
442:
Mary, be sure to check the mics in that room. --Joe
386:
P>> When will we have the performance figures?
355:>> When will we have the performance figures?
112:
Alternatively, special delimiter lines may be used:
1604:"Email Guide - Email Tutorial - Learn Email Basics"
411:When replying to long discussions, particularly in
324:>> When will we have the performance figures?
304:elements may be nested to achieve the same effect.
1601:
1513:"Mailing and Posting Etiquette: Quote Judiciously"
1216:
1111:
1073:
716:others into believing it is an "official" record.
570:> We still do not have a clear marketing plan.
115:Hey Joe, Paris is in France, not England. --Mary
93:context is helpful. Many email reading programs (
2452:
581:> Can you present your report an hour later?
1546:. TheIStudio.com using the brand NetM@nners.com
1495:
1508:(see #9 for comments on proper inline quoting)
267:>>> How is the report coming? --Mary
1633:
1443:Why is Bottom-posting better than Top-posting
593:>> 4.30pm: Send out summary of feedback
389:N> The tests will be completed next week.
358:> The tests will be completed next week.
1558:
1498:"USENET and Mailing List posting netiquette"
1184:
406:
327:> The tests will be completed next week.
83:
1581:
1247:
1020:
526:by the new recipient, for lack of context.
1640:
1626:
1085:The Text/Plain Format and DelSp Parameters
475:which is not present in the original book.
190:" to be semantically different. That is, "
57:(in which the reply follows the quote) or
1097:
1095:
1093:
918:Learn how and when to remove this message
519:Do we have the West Coast sales data yet?
257:
312:Quoted material is often preceded by an
201:The convention of quoting was common in
135:
16:Conventions for text-based Internet fora
1586:. Epsilon 3 Productions. Archived from
1411:"Making Outlook 2007 quote responsibly"
1357:"ARM Linux - Mailing Lists - Etiquette"
1028:Quoting support in popular mail clients
631:
532:
237:It will be on your desk by noon. --Joe
223:It will be on your desk by noon. --Joe
2453:
1090:
984:
521:The LA office just sent them in. Joe
1621:
508:The LA office just sent them in. Joe
484:Automatically included text (such as
221:> How is the report coming? --Mary
131:
1584:"101 Ways to be Obnoxious on Usenet"
856:adding citations to reliable sources
827:
798:> At 9.40am Wednesday, Jim wrote:
558:> Will our prices be competitive?
537:
307:
1647:
693:-------- Original Message --------
679:Tuesday, October 16, 2007 10:01 AM
671:-------- Original Message --------
548:
491:
285:At 10.01am Wednesday, Danny wrote:
194:" has a quote-depth of two, while "
13:
1541:
1433:in The Jargon File (version 4.4.7)
816:At 10.01am Wednesday, Danny wrote:
796:At 10.01am Wednesday, Danny wrote:
701:Tuesday, October 16, 2007 9:40 AM
585:At 10.01am Wednesday, Danny wrote:
283:No problem. 6pm it is then. --Jim
14:
2487:
1424:
1289:The Rough Guide to the Internet 9
824:Choosing the proper posting style
785:
668:No problem. 6pm it is then. Jim
1375:"Top Posting and Bottom Posting"
1255:"Top-posting is so Microsoftish"
832:
705:Danny <danny@example.com>
675:Danny <danny@example.com>
619:outside the academic community.
544:
26:When a message is replied to in
1403:
1385:
1367:
1349:
1330:
1318:
1279:
1192:"reply intelligently to e-mail"
843:needs additional citations for
587:>> 2.00pm: Present report
109:Much like your posting. -- Jim
1496:Stewart, Godwin (2006-09-07).
1168:
1148:
1135:My rapidly growing email habit
1128:
645:
1:
1259:SuSE Linux English discussion
1101:S. Hambridge (October 1995),
1067:
807:No problems. 6pm it is then.
370:Another alternative, used in
182:depends on it and considers "
1530:. River of Stars. 2004-01-14
1515:. River of Stars. 2004-01-14
1261:. 2002-10-13. Archived from
1198:. 2006-01-19. Archived from
1117:Archives of Usenet posts at
1079:R. Gellens (February 2004),
697:Jim <jim@example.com>
683:Jim <jim@example.com>
7:
2011:Inter-process communication
1559:Easter, Mike (2006-04-03).
1449:"In Defence of Top-Posting"
1165:) postfix.org mailing list.
1161:September 28, 2007, at the
1045:
995:will typically insist on a
174:draft RFC 1849 recommends "
10:
2492:
1678:Web syndication technology
1582:Meiss, Alan (2005-03-16).
1555:(see the fourth paragraph)
1491:The Aglami Top-Posting FAQ
1481:The Trim-Posting Manifesto
18:
2393:
2298:
2233:
2226:
2164:
2101:
2094:
2049:
2003:
1975:
1932:
1901:
1850:
1829:
1822:
1695:
1686:
1655:
1346:—Blog post and discussion
1342:October 17, 2006, at the
1203:(blog post and responses)
1141:January 19, 2007, at the
454:3rd floor conference room
407:Trimming and reformatting
242:HTML indentation elements
84:Quoting previous messages
1602:Sherwood, Kaitlin Duck.
1471:Outlook Express Quotefix
779:and in personal e-mail.
720:cause misunderstanding.
513:
464:On Thursday, Jim wrote:
462:
448:
428:
1327:—Dan's Mail Format Site
1175:Top Posting and Mobiles
723:In the earlier days of
178:" as the quote-prefix;
1393:"What is Top Posting?"
1052:Diple (textual symbol)
1021:bottom-posting example
973:
940:written correspondence
258:Reply level indication
141:
1486:Using Internet e-mail
1266:(Mailing list thread)
1227:(Mailing list thread)
1103:Network Working Group
968:
139:
45:The main options are
2411:Glossary of blogging
2375:Social communication
1325:Quoting: Top Posting
1293:(Google Book Search)
1123:beginning of the WWW
852:improve this article
533:Placement of replies
196:> >
188:> >
47:interleaved posting
2436:Uses of podcasting
2174:Collaborative blog
2169:Anonymous blogging
2062:RSS Advisory Board
1730:Electronic journal
611:and the spread of
383:N> Peter wrote:
294:In HTML messages,
142:
132:Quoted line prefix
2448:
2447:
2444:
2443:
2235:Alternative media
2222:
2221:
2184:Instant messaging
2090:
2089:
1818:
1817:
1417:. 14 August 2008.
1057:Greater-than sign
928:
927:
920:
902:
761:Microsoft Outlook
538:Interleaved style
426:the reply may be
394:P> Mary wrote:
321:> Peter wrote:
308:Attribution lines
211:Microsoft Outlook
146:greater-than sign
2483:
2471:Internet culture
2231:
2230:
2111:Enhanced podcast
2099:
2098:
1827:
1826:
1693:
1692:
1642:
1635:
1628:
1619:
1618:
1614:
1612:
1611:
1598:
1596:
1595:
1578:
1576:
1575:
1566:. Archived from
1554:
1552:
1551:
1538:
1536:
1535:
1523:
1521:
1520:
1507:
1505:
1504:
1467:Outlook Quotefix
1463:
1461:
1460:
1451:. Archived from
1419:
1418:
1407:
1401:
1400:
1397:what-is-what.com
1389:
1383:
1382:
1371:
1365:
1364:
1353:
1347:
1334:
1328:
1322:
1316:
1315:
1310:
1309:
1294:
1283:
1277:
1276:
1274:
1273:
1267:
1251:
1245:
1244:
1242:
1241:
1228:
1220:
1214:
1213:
1211:
1210:
1204:
1188:
1182:
1172:
1166:
1152:
1146:
1132:
1126:
1115:
1109:
1099:
1088:
1077:
985:attribution line
944:Customer service
923:
916:
912:
909:
903:
901:
860:
836:
828:
819:
806:
802:
799:
712:
690:
632:level indicators
600:
597:
594:
591:
588:
571:
564:
559:
520:
517:
506:
492:How much to trim
486:signature blocks
479:
476:
473:
470:
467:
455:
452:
441:
438:
435:
432:
401:
398:
395:
390:
387:
384:
376:mail user agents
365:
362:
359:
356:
339:
336:
333:
332:> Mary wrote:
328:
325:
322:
314:attribution line
303:
299:
291:
288:
274:
271:
268:
253:
249:
235:
232:
222:
216:
207:email interfaces
197:
193:
189:
185:
177:
166:
151:
126:
95:mail user agents
74:online community
2491:
2490:
2486:
2485:
2484:
2482:
2481:
2480:
2451:
2450:
2449:
2440:
2426:Slashdot effect
2389:
2380:Social software
2294:
2218:
2199:Mobile blogging
2160:
2086:
2045:
2041:Streaming media
1999:
1971:
1928:
1924:Synchronization
1897:
1846:
1842:Feed URI scheme
1814:
1710:Classical music
1682:
1651:
1649:Web syndication
1646:
1609:
1607:
1593:
1591:
1573:
1571:
1549:
1547:
1533:
1531:
1526:
1518:
1516:
1511:
1502:
1500:
1458:
1456:
1447:
1427:
1422:
1409:
1408:
1404:
1391:
1390:
1386:
1373:
1372:
1368:
1355:
1354:
1350:
1344:Wayback Machine
1335:
1331:
1323:
1319:
1307:
1305:
1303:
1292:
1284:
1280:
1271:
1269:
1265:
1253:
1252:
1248:
1239:
1237:
1226:
1222:
1221:
1217:
1208:
1206:
1202:
1190:
1189:
1185:
1173:
1169:
1163:Wayback Machine
1155:Stopping SirCam
1153:
1149:
1143:Wayback Machine
1133:
1129:
1116:
1112:
1100:
1091:
1078:
1074:
1070:
1048:
1030:
1013:
924:
913:
907:
904:
867:"Posting style"
861:
859:
849:
837:
826:
821:
817:
810:
808:
804:
803:
800:
797:
788:
713:
710:
692:
691:
688:
670:
669:
648:
624:Internet forums
601:
598:
595:
592:
589:
586:
584:
582:
576:
574:
572:
569:
567:
565:
562:
560:
557:
555:
540:
535:
523:
522:
518:
515:
509:
507:
504:
494:
482:
481:
477:
474:
471:
468:
465:
458:
457:
453:
450:
444:
443:
440:conference room
439:
436:
433:
430:
424:
409:
404:
402:
399:
396:
393:
391:
388:
385:
382:
368:
366:
363:
360:
357:
354:
342:
340:
337:
334:
331:
329:
326:
323:
320:
310:
301:
295:
292:
289:
286:
284:
277:
275:
272:
269:
266:
260:
251:
245:
238:
236:
233:
230:
224:
220:
214:
195:
191:
187:
183:
175:
164:
149:
134:
129:
127:
124:
118:
116:
110:
108:
86:
51:inline replying
32:Internet forums
24:
21:Bump (Internet)
17:
12:
11:
5:
2489:
2479:
2478:
2473:
2468:
2463:
2446:
2445:
2442:
2441:
2439:
2438:
2433:
2428:
2423:
2418:
2413:
2408:
2406:Escribitionist
2403:
2397:
2395:
2391:
2390:
2388:
2387:
2382:
2377:
2372:
2371:
2370:
2365:
2355:
2350:
2345:
2340:
2335:
2334:
2333:
2328:
2323:
2318:
2313:
2302:
2300:
2296:
2295:
2293:
2292:
2287:
2282:
2277:
2275:Search engines
2272:
2267:
2266:
2265:
2260:
2250:
2245:
2239:
2237:
2228:
2224:
2223:
2220:
2219:
2217:
2216:
2211:
2209:Video blogging
2206:
2201:
2196:
2191:
2186:
2181:
2176:
2171:
2165:
2162:
2161:
2159:
2158:
2153:
2148:
2143:
2138:
2133:
2128:
2123:
2118:
2113:
2108:
2102:
2096:
2092:
2091:
2088:
2087:
2085:
2084:
2079:
2074:
2072:World Wide Web
2069:
2064:
2059:
2053:
2051:
2047:
2046:
2044:
2043:
2038:
2033:
2028:
2023:
2018:
2013:
2007:
2005:
2001:
2000:
1998:
1997:
1992:
1987:
1981:
1979:
1973:
1972:
1970:
1969:
1964:
1959:
1954:
1949:
1944:
1938:
1936:
1930:
1929:
1927:
1926:
1921:
1916:
1911:
1905:
1903:
1899:
1898:
1896:
1895:
1890:
1885:
1880:
1875:
1870:
1865:
1860:
1854:
1852:
1848:
1847:
1845:
1844:
1839:
1833:
1831:
1824:
1820:
1819:
1816:
1815:
1813:
1812:
1807:
1802:
1797:
1792:
1787:
1782:
1777:
1772:
1767:
1762:
1757:
1752:
1747:
1742:
1737:
1732:
1727:
1722:
1717:
1712:
1707:
1702:
1696:
1690:
1684:
1683:
1681:
1680:
1675:
1670:
1665:
1660:
1656:
1653:
1652:
1645:
1644:
1637:
1630:
1622:
1616:
1615:
1599:
1579:
1556:
1539:
1524:
1509:
1493:
1488:
1483:
1478:
1464:
1445:
1440:
1434:
1426:
1425:External links
1423:
1421:
1420:
1415:loftninjas.org
1402:
1384:
1366:
1348:
1337:Sensible email
1329:
1317:
1301:
1278:
1246:
1215:
1183:
1167:
1147:
1127:
1110:
1089:
1071:
1069:
1066:
1065:
1064:
1059:
1054:
1047:
1044:
1029:
1026:
1011:
926:
925:
840:
838:
831:
825:
822:
815:
795:
787:
786:Bottom-posting
784:
750:mobile devices
667:
647:
644:
580:
553:
539:
536:
534:
531:
514:
502:
493:
490:
463:
449:
429:
422:
408:
405:
380:
353:
318:
309:
306:
282:
265:
259:
256:
229:
219:
192:>>
184:>>
133:
130:
123:
114:
106:
85:
82:
55:bottom-posting
40:posting styles
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
2488:
2477:
2474:
2472:
2469:
2467:
2464:
2462:
2459:
2458:
2456:
2437:
2434:
2432:
2431:Spam in blogs
2429:
2427:
2424:
2422:
2421:Posting style
2419:
2417:
2416:Pay per click
2414:
2412:
2409:
2407:
2404:
2402:
2399:
2398:
2396:
2392:
2386:
2383:
2381:
2378:
2376:
2373:
2369:
2366:
2364:
2361:
2360:
2359:
2356:
2354:
2351:
2349:
2348:Broadcatching
2346:
2344:
2341:
2339:
2336:
2332:
2329:
2327:
2324:
2322:
2319:
2317:
2314:
2312:
2309:
2308:
2307:
2304:
2303:
2301:
2297:
2291:
2290:Web directory
2288:
2286:
2283:
2281:
2278:
2276:
2273:
2271:
2268:
2264:
2261:
2259:
2256:
2255:
2254:
2251:
2249:
2246:
2244:
2241:
2240:
2238:
2236:
2232:
2229:
2225:
2215:
2212:
2210:
2207:
2205:
2202:
2200:
2197:
2195:
2192:
2190:
2187:
2185:
2182:
2180:
2177:
2175:
2172:
2170:
2167:
2166:
2163:
2157:
2154:
2152:
2149:
2147:
2144:
2142:
2139:
2137:
2134:
2132:
2129:
2127:
2124:
2122:
2121:Narrowcasting
2119:
2117:
2114:
2112:
2109:
2107:
2106:Audio podcast
2104:
2103:
2100:
2097:
2093:
2083:
2080:
2078:
2075:
2073:
2070:
2068:
2065:
2063:
2060:
2058:
2055:
2054:
2052:
2048:
2042:
2039:
2037:
2034:
2032:
2029:
2027:
2024:
2022:
2019:
2017:
2014:
2012:
2009:
2008:
2006:
2002:
1996:
1993:
1991:
1988:
1986:
1983:
1982:
1980:
1978:
1974:
1968:
1965:
1963:
1960:
1958:
1955:
1953:
1950:
1948:
1945:
1943:
1940:
1939:
1937:
1935:
1931:
1925:
1922:
1920:
1919:RSS enclosure
1917:
1915:
1912:
1910:
1907:
1906:
1904:
1900:
1894:
1891:
1889:
1886:
1884:
1881:
1879:
1876:
1874:
1871:
1869:
1866:
1864:
1861:
1859:
1856:
1855:
1853:
1849:
1843:
1840:
1838:
1835:
1834:
1832:
1828:
1825:
1821:
1811:
1808:
1806:
1803:
1801:
1798:
1796:
1793:
1791:
1788:
1786:
1783:
1781:
1778:
1776:
1773:
1771:
1768:
1766:
1763:
1761:
1758:
1756:
1753:
1751:
1748:
1746:
1743:
1741:
1738:
1736:
1733:
1731:
1728:
1726:
1723:
1721:
1718:
1716:
1713:
1711:
1708:
1706:
1703:
1701:
1698:
1697:
1694:
1691:
1689:
1685:
1679:
1676:
1674:
1671:
1669:
1666:
1664:
1661:
1658:
1657:
1654:
1650:
1643:
1638:
1636:
1631:
1629:
1624:
1623:
1620:
1605:
1600:
1590:on 2005-03-16
1589:
1585:
1580:
1570:on 2013-02-22
1569:
1565:
1562:
1557:
1545:
1540:
1529:
1525:
1514:
1510:
1499:
1494:
1492:
1489:
1487:
1484:
1482:
1479:
1476:
1472:
1468:
1465:
1455:on 2007-06-07
1454:
1450:
1446:
1444:
1441:
1438:
1437:Quoting Style
1435:
1432:
1429:
1428:
1416:
1412:
1406:
1398:
1394:
1388:
1380:
1376:
1370:
1362:
1358:
1352:
1345:
1341:
1338:
1333:
1326:
1321:
1314:
1304:
1302:1-84353-101-1
1298:
1291:
1290:
1282:
1268:on 2004-12-24
1264:
1260:
1256:
1250:
1235:
1233:
1225:
1224:"Top posting"
1219:
1205:on 2008-03-08
1201:
1197:
1193:
1187:
1181:mailing list.
1180:
1176:
1171:
1164:
1160:
1156:
1151:
1144:
1140:
1136:
1131:
1124:
1121:prior to the
1120:
1119:Google Groups
1114:
1107:
1104:
1098:
1096:
1094:
1087:
1086:
1082:
1076:
1072:
1063:
1060:
1058:
1055:
1053:
1050:
1049:
1043:
1040:
1034:
1025:
1022:
1016:
1010:
1007:
1004:
1002:
998:
994:
990:
986:
982:
977:
972:
967:
964:
960:
956:
954:
953:online forums
950:
945:
941:
936:
932:
922:
919:
911:
900:
897:
893:
890:
886:
883:
879:
876:
872:
869: –
868:
864:
863:Find sources:
857:
853:
847:
846:
841:This section
839:
835:
830:
829:
814:
794:
792:
783:
780:
778:
777:mailing lists
773:
770:
766:
762:
757:
755:
751:
746:
742:
740:
738:
733:
731:
726:
721:
717:
708:
704:
700:
696:
686:
682:
678:
674:
666:
663:
661:
657:
653:
643:
641:
637:
633:
629:
625:
620:
618:
614:
610:
606:
579:
552:
550:
549:bottom-posted
546:
530:
527:
512:
501:
498:
489:
487:
461:
447:
446:or even just
427:
421:
417:
414:
392:Peter wrote:
381:Nancy wrote:
379:
377:
373:
352:
349:
345:
330:Peter wrote:
319:Nancy wrote:
317:
315:
305:
298:
281:
264:
255:
248:
243:
228:
218:
212:
208:
204:
199:
181:
173:
172:"son-of-1036"
168:
162:
159:
155:
147:
138:
122:
113:
105:
103:
98:
96:
91:
81:
79:
75:
70:
66:
64:
60:
56:
52:
49:(also called
48:
43:
41:
37:
33:
29:
22:
2420:
2270:Online diary
2214:Motovlogging
2189:Liveblogging
2136:Slidecasting
2036:RSS tracking
1957:Product feed
1705:Bloggernacle
1608:. Retrieved
1606:. newbie.org
1592:. Retrieved
1588:the original
1572:. Retrieved
1568:the original
1548:. Retrieved
1532:. Retrieved
1517:. Retrieved
1501:. Retrieved
1475:OE PowerTool
1457:. Retrieved
1453:the original
1414:
1405:
1396:
1387:
1378:
1369:
1361:linux.org.uk
1360:
1351:
1332:
1320:
1312:
1306:. Retrieved
1288:
1281:
1270:. Retrieved
1263:the original
1258:
1249:
1238:. Retrieved
1236:. 2004-03-19
1234:mailing list
1230:
1218:
1207:. Retrieved
1200:the original
1196:TechRepublic
1195:
1186:
1170:
1150:
1145:) blog post.
1130:
1113:
1084:
1080:
1075:
1062:Nested quote
1035:
1031:
1017:
1014:
1008:
1005:
1001:mailing-list
996:
978:
974:
969:
965:
961:
957:
937:
933:
929:
914:
905:
895:
888:
881:
874:
862:
850:Please help
845:verification
842:
811:
793:
789:
781:
774:
758:
747:
743:
736:
729:
722:
718:
714:
706:
702:
698:
694:
684:
680:
676:
672:
664:
659:
655:
651:
649:
621:
602:
577:
568:Mary wrote:
541:
528:
524:
510:
499:
495:
483:
459:
445:
425:
418:
410:
369:
350:
346:
343:
313:
311:
293:
278:
261:
239:
225:
200:
169:
163:character ("
161:vertical bar
143:
119:
111:
99:
90:asynchronous
87:
71:
67:
62:
58:
54:
50:
46:
44:
39:
25:
2401:Blogosphere
2306:Aggregation
2126:Peercasting
2026:Referencing
1720:Dream diary
1379:idallen.com
754:smartphones
652:top-posting
646:Top-posting
556:Joe wrote:
102:indentation
72:While each
59:top-posting
2455:Categories
2299:Micromedia
2253:Journalism
2156:Web series
2131:Screencast
2116:Mobilecast
2031:RSS editor
1914:Geotagging
1878:Reblogging
1837:BitTorrent
1823:Technology
1668:Podcasting
1610:2008-03-10
1594:2013-04-12
1574:2008-03-10
1550:2013-04-12
1534:2013-04-12
1519:2013-04-12
1503:2008-03-10
1459:2013-04-12
1431:"top-post"
1308:2007-01-11
1272:2007-01-11
1240:2007-01-11
1209:2013-04-12
1068:References
1039:HTML email
993:Postmaster
949:newsgroups
878:newspapers
545:top-posted
297:blockquote
247:blockquote
78:netiquette
2466:Etiquette
2385:Web Slice
2243:Carnivals
2204:Spam blog
2194:Microblog
2179:Columnist
2141:Videocast
1952:Photofeed
1947:Data feed
1942:Atom feed
1902:Mechanism
1893:Trackback
1863:Permalink
1790:Political
1780:Photoblog
1715:Corporate
997:forwarded
748:Users of
739:hierarchy
732:hierarchy
730:comp.lang
665:Example:
660:Jeopardy!
638:(such as
413:newsgroup
374:and some
154:canonical
2285:Software
2280:Sideblog
2263:Database
2146:Webcomic
2050:Standard
2016:Livemark
1967:Web feed
1962:RDF feed
1934:Memetics
1888:Rollback
1873:Pingback
1858:Linkback
1851:Features
1673:Vlogging
1663:Blogging
1542:Judith.
1340:Archived
1159:Archived
1139:Archived
1081:RFC 3676
1046:See also
908:May 2024
707:Subject:
687:RE: Job
685:Subject:
640:Slashdot
617:Internet
615:and the
180:RFC 3676
63:trimming
2394:Related
2353:Hashtag
2343:AtomPub
2258:Citizen
2248:Fiction
2151:Webtoon
1883:Refback
1830:General
1810:Warblog
1800:Reverse
1795:Project
1765:Lifelog
1745:Fashion
1725:Edublog
1659:History
1564:SpamCop
1232:FreeBSD
1125:(1993).
892:scholar
752:, like
628:webmail
372:Fidonet
186:" and "
152:", the
2476:Usenet
2358:NewsML
2326:Search
2321:Review
2067:Usenet
2021:Mashup
2004:Social
1995:RSS TV
1985:GeoRSS
1909:Thread
1805:Travel
1785:Police
1755:Health
1740:Family
1299:
1179:Jabber
894:
887:
880:
873:
865:
769:cursor
725:Usenet
613:e-mail
605:Usenet
203:Usenet
36:Usenet
28:e-mail
2461:Email
2331:Video
2227:Media
1688:Types
1108:1855
899:JSTOR
885:books
765:Gmail
699:Sent:
695:From:
677:Sent:
673:From:
636:blogs
516:>
478:>
472:>
466:>
451:>
437:>
431:>
244:like
158:ASCII
34:, or
2338:Atom
2316:Poll
2311:News
2095:Form
2082:XOXO
2077:XBEL
2057:OPML
1990:MRSS
1868:Ping
1775:News
1750:Food
1735:Fake
1473:and
1297:ISBN
981:MIME
871:news
709:Job
656:TOFU
215:>
176:>
150:>
1977:RSS
1770:MP3
1760:Law
1700:Art
1106:RFC
991:'s
989:ISP
951:or
854:by
737:alt
703:To:
681:To:
650:In
609:WWW
547:or
300:or
250:or
2457::
2368:G2
1469:,
1413:.
1395:.
1377:.
1359:.
1311:.
1257:.
1229:.
1194:.
1092:^
763:,
302:dl
254:.
252:dl
148:("
42:.
30:,
2363:1
1641:e
1634:t
1627:v
1613:.
1597:.
1577:.
1553:.
1537:.
1522:.
1506:.
1462:.
1399:.
1381:.
1363:.
1275:.
1243:.
1212:.
1177:—
1157:(
1137:(
921:)
915:(
910:)
906:(
896:·
889:·
882:·
875:·
848:.
165:|
23:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.