Re: Question

n...@spam.please.com (Arcain) writes:
>
> Whenever someone posts to this group they always quote the entire message. I
> usually delete it.

Properly one on all newsgrouops (and mailing lists and private mail)
should quote enough for the reader to recognize what post/mail one is
following on from, and preferably also to what part of it one is
responding.

The "what part" is the problematic one for a.a-a, because posts often
do not contain discussions but rather just one bit of artwork. Cutting
it down to an small bit that captures its point is difficult. So full
quotes are accepted here.

I do though find it annoying though, due to being used to consise
quoting on other groups. But I am getting used to it. I would still
like it if people were a bit more consise.


> Should I leave it on for any reason? (is it better for UNIX
> newsreaders?)

Actually nothing to do with Unix.

Rather it is for non-threaded news-readers. In these the user does not
see an threaded view, rather they just get all posts of one thread
ordered by time. So the do not see what othe rpost a post is following
up from.

Such readers are far more common than generally thought, because lots
of old stuff is still in use (particularly by a.a-a readers) and
because some people dislike threaded view and so switch it off even
where it is available.

Threading can lead to many-generation followups written after other
side branches being sorted before them, and so the reader sees stuff
that may side reference posts not yet read, this confuses or annoys
some readers, particularly long time ones. Later the older side line
has an deja-vu feeling to it.


--
Neil Franklin, Nerd, Geek, Unix Wizzard and Guru, Hacker, Mystic
nei...@franklin.ch.remove http://neil.franklin.ch/
Computer: toy that speeds work, so you have more time to play with it