[mythtv-users] Who is VCRAddict - and who appointed him sheriff of Mythville?

[David Brodbeck]

On Fri, November 21, 2008 6:31 am, JR henry wrote:
> *sigh*  thats a war I lost a long time ago.  why did top posting become
> evil, why :(

Top posting isn't really inferior or immoral, although some people try to
frame the isssue that way.  What it really is, is an issue of custom.

To make an analogy, let's say you're visiting somewhere where people
habitually walk on the left side of the sidewalk.  Maybe you prefer to
walk on the right, but if you walk on the right there, you'll be
constantly surprising people, bumping into them, and inconveniencing them.
 The polite thing to do is follow the local convention and walk on the
left.  Walking on the left isn't inherently superior to walking on the
right, but it's the local custom.

Similarly, on a list where the convention is to bottom- or inline-post,
top-posting throws people off.  It's not that it's somehow inherently
worse, but it's not what people are expecting.  A thread with mixed top-
and bottom-posting is particularly hard to read, so it's polite to follow
the same convention as everyone else.