Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: PLEASE, Learn to delete quoted text [was: A new

[truddick (truddick]

-----Original Message-----

Message: 7
Date: Fri, 12 May 2006 11:29:28 -0700 (PDT)
From: Fred H Olson <fholson [at] cohousing.org>


>Robin wrote:
>> The thing I dislike is when all the quoted text comes first
>> and one has to search down for the actual new message.

You mean like this???

>Digest subscriber have to sort thru quotes to find new material
>regularly...But Amelia did have a good point that new subscribers
>should be advised about expectations for posting...

A couple of points to remember:

--It's considered basic netiquette to trim previous material in any reply
message, a custom that we all should try to habituate.
--Good habits and intentions notwithstanding, people make mistakes.
Recently, I recall, I posted here in my usual manner but forgot to clean up
the mess below my "sig" lines.  Thus, much of the digest re-appeared,
despite my knowing the rules and having every intent to display good
cyber-manners.
--Relative to the above, communication researchers published, a couple of
years ago, a study that showed clearly that information received via e-mail
is often overlooked or forgotten.  E-mail evidently is seen as disposable
messages by most users, who tend to skim and delete rather than read
carefully, ponder importance, and archive.

Therefore, while putting an explanation about trimming quotes in the message
to newcomers is OK, I don't believe it will have the desired effect of
reducing to near zero the number of untrimmed quotes.  And so Fred will
occasionally need to post reminders.

So-when Fred posts a friendly reminder, why is it that I take it as Fred
doing his job as listowner with good humor and care, while someone who had
not broken the rule got a little defensive?  Who controls the attitude of
the person receiving the message, and how does that attitude affect the
potential to communicate efficiently and effectively?

I think we all know the answers--


___
  !    _    Thomas E. "TR" Ruddick
  !   !_)   Nunquam Vadis Levis!
      !  \