Re: Top-posting angers the USENET gods [was: Dual port dual subnet question]

From: jpd (read_the_sig_at_do.not.spam.it)
Date: 09/15/04

  • Next message: Ludwig Weinzierl: "Re: System wont boot after install" 
    Date: Wed, 15 Sep 2004 09:43:08 +0000 (UTC)

    On 2004-09-14, clvrmnky <clvrmnky-uunet@coldmail.com.invalid> wrote:
    > On 13/09/2004 9:37 PM, Ben wrote:
    >> I checked up on my old postings (1999-2000) on this newsgroup on
    >> google and noticed a few top posts (myself and others). Didn't see any
    >> flames about top posting at that time though.
    >>
    >> Oh well, times (and people) change, I guess.

    Just lucky back then. How many times can you get away with your feet on
    the opposite couch in public transport before someone tells you to not
    do that? It'll vary.

    [snip]
    > Lately (i.e., the last few years), I've noticed that old-timers have
    > been giving up. There are just too many newbies every year, and nobody
    > seems to want to care anymore.

    Not true. I forgot whose article said that (n)etiquette is _usually_ not
    spoken explicitly of but it certainly is the people that keep it alive;
    so if someone crosses the lines others will have to make that clear.
    If you think about it, that's the way it works /IRL/, too. Watch kid
    cross line. Watch parents tell off kid. What happens if you encounter
    someone who hasn't learned the basics of social life? (Think trailer
    trash/pikeys and other people generally regarded as less-than-social.)

    Me, I either tell someone off (if I have something else to say too) or
    I killfile. The overall killrate is about 10% of the overall posts in
    cub*m, so, looking at my rather large killfile, I'm guessing that most
    of the idjits don't come back.

    > However, for low-traffic newsgroups like
    > c.u.b.o.m., I think you'll find that people are more willing to make
    > their opinions known. Anything goes over on those *.advocacy groups,
    > but here I think you'll find people are a little more picky.

    I've heard that the quality of information seems to be higher here, too.
    That's enough information for me.

    Same on IRC, too; there's channels with strict code and high useful
    signal, and there's channels with lots of trash and pizzascripts.
    Guess where I hang out.

    >> Shall we start discussing the proper placement of { } in C next? :-)
    >>
    > No, but you have to agree that everyone on the same project should write
    > C code in the same style, right? Same for USENET, as we all share the
    > same "source". It's best we stick to the same general style, otherwise
    > USENET is not as usable.

    As it so happens, that style is also the only one suited for high-volume
    multi-discussion threads. Even in private email, as an example; I've
    been discussing with someone about maybe 20 different subjects, up to
    six at any one time in one email, in detail, over the stretch of a few
    months. After a while we had to split into two threads but basically
    it's still five pages of text (new content worth three pages) with each
    email. It's been slow lately but we had two mails a week back in both
    directions for ages. If the point isn't clear yet: you can't do that
    kind of thing if you're not both posting interleaved and trimming like
    mad.

    Usenet and by extention email, isn't the only medium that has found out
    that this is the only usable style. Back on fido (well, several FTNs)
    with many paying for their traffic on slow modems (local calls _not_
    free in many countries outside zone 1) it was exactly the same.

    > Anyway, everyone knows that the only way to write C is the One True
    > Brace Style made famous in K&R ;-)

    There is only one. All the others can be ignored. Even gn00s. 

    -- 
  j p d (at) d s b (dot) t u d e l f t (dot) n l .
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