PLEASE, Learn to delete quoted text
From: Fred H Olson (fholsoncohousing.org)
Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2006 12:00:14 -0800 (PST)
Today there was a rash of messages (5) held for my review that quoted way
too much of previous messages.  This combined with attachments (which get
stripped but still get counted toward messages size limit) caused these
to be held for my review.  One quoted a digest, the others quoted 2-4
previous messages.  I plan to edit these messages and forward them to the
list but it may be tomorrow before they get posted.  So to day you can:

Please learn to delete any material not needed to set the context for your
message.  Previous messages are always available i the archives if needed.

Below is one subscriber's attempt to elaborate oh how to handle quotes.  I
plan to add some of this as an FAQ entry tho there is already something
there about quotes and a number of other with advice on posting.

Archives and FAQ's can be found via the Cohousing-L Info page - the URL of
which is at the bottom of every posting. http://cohousing.org/cohousing-L

    Posters and digest subscribers.

I suspect the subscribers who are most likely to post receive cohousing-L
messages in "regular" (non-digest) mode.  But most subscribers use digest
mode. And excessive quoting is most annoying to digest subscribers since
the quotes are between messages not at the end of each message where it
can easily be ignored as in non-digest mode.

Digest subscribers have to look thru the quoted messages to find the next
new message. Thus it may be a case of non-digest subscribers obliviously
annoying most (digest mode subscribers) by quoting too much.

Cohousing-L subscribers are a very congenial group so I assume there is
nothing intentional, it just takes learning a bit of new technique.

And for those who value conserving resources, reducing unneeded quotes
conserves bandwidth in transmission to 600+ people, conserves inbox
space, conserves archive space, and speeds archive searches.  Tho these
seem "free" and intangible, they do require real, limited resources to
provide.

Don't forget to read the Howto "delete excessive quotes" below.

Fred, cohousing-L list manager

-- 
Fred H. Olson  Minneapolis,MN 55411  USA        (near north Mpls)
Communications for Justice - My new listserv org.       UU, Linux
My Link Page: http://fholson.cohousing.org       Ham radio:WB0YQM
fholson at cohousing.org   612-588-9532   (7am-10pm Central time)

From: Michael Whitman <Michael.Whitman [at] valley.net>
Subject line:  Respect for readers -- delete excessive quotes

Hello, all -- Posters to this discussion list consistently send in positive,
on-topic, non-rambling messages, but may I make a plea that everyone also pay
attention to how many lines they use up in (1) the "quoted" material that they
are responding to, and (2) their sign-off? Frequently a short, interesting post
is followed by screens and screens of other stuff that's been posted before.

    Posters can "snip" a few lines that tells readers what you are
replying to. CAUTION:  With many email programs, if you simply hit "Reply"
when you respond to someone else's post, their ENTIRE post, plus all the
from-to-date-subject-routing info is also quoted. I know of two ways to
snip, and there are likely more:

1. Some email software allows you to highlight something in a message you are
reading, and when you hit "Reply", your outgoing message will start with
something like "You wrote--- ...[what you highlighted]... ---End of quote",
after which you can put your new message. This feature may also be in
Microsoft's new "Entourage" email software.

2. With other email programss, like older Outlooks, even if you highlight
something brief to reply to, it will quote the entire incoming message
when you hit "Reply". If your email works this way, take a minute and
delete everything except what you are replying to, before you contribute.

    Example: I recently read a great two-line reply to a three-line quote, but
this admirable brevity was followed by a 12-line "signature" and 98 lines of
re-quoted material from the previous-previous message. In the same digest, a
15-line message was followed by 99 lines of quote and requote.

3. Some folks always end with a signature block with their name, job title,
company or community, website, phone number, and perhaps even a pithy quote, or
symbols that make a picture with accents and punctuation characters, which
readers really don't need. Once, OK, but not every time, please!
[ I suggest and encourage informative "signatures" up to 3-5 lines.
  Fred, list manager ]

Thank you --

   Michael Whitman

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