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> Bottom-posting, due to its falling out of favor in the mainstream, has become a shibboleth that signifies a certain degree of competence with technology and I
by stock_toaster 14y ago
> Bottom-posting, due to its falling out of favor in the mainstream, has become a shibboleth that signifies a certain degree of competence with technology and Internet communication in general.
I don't find this true at all. I get quite the mix of response styles from people of all walks of 'techno competency' -- sometimes a MUA defaults, especially mobile ones. As mentioned elsewhere in the comments, in business settings (often with engineers) top-posting is also very common. Not everyone uses Mutt. I think attempting to label people who don't follow your preference as less technical competent is a bit myopic.
Further, it could even be considered rude to start bottom posting in a chain of existing top-posting-only.
That said, I do prefer bottom posting when it makes sense, and practice it when it is convenient or the social norm of the community I am conversing within.
- tmhedberg 14y agoIt is only one data point among many, I admit, and it would be unfair to characterize someone's expertise based solely on their choice of email quoting style. But in my (completely anecdotal) experience, there is more often than not a correlation between the two. Maybe it's just the email discussion lists that I frequent, where bottom posting tends to be the norm, and top-posted messages mostly come from people who could have answered their own question had they bothered to spend 30 seconds on Google before going to the mailing list.
- stock_toaster 14y agoThanks for the background. In a community specific setting, it may well be a useful indicator. I assumed you had meant it broadly. I hypothesize that it would be a far less useful distinguishing characteristic in that case.