Over-quoting

[Fernando Martins]

Paul Fertser wrote:
> I'm so tired of all that over-quoting and top-posting! Can't you
> people have a little respect for others? Take a look at RFC1855, at
> least it has some sane reasoning.
>
>   
Well, since it is weekend I went to check TFM for you :-).
I guess the relevant parts are:

    - If you are forwarding or re-posting a message you've received, do
      not change the wording.  If the message was a personal message to
      you and you are re-posting to a group, you should ask permission
      first.  You may shorten the message and quote only relevant parts,
      but be sure you give proper attribution.

    - Read all of a discussion in progress (we call this a thread)
      before posting replies.  Avoid posting "Me Too" messages,
      where content is limited to agreement with previous posts.
      Content of a follow-up post should exceed quoted content.

    - If you are sending a reply to a message or a posting be sure you
      summarize the original at the top of the message, or include just
      enough text of the original to give a context.  This will make
      sure readers understand when they start to read your response.
      Since NetNews, especially, is proliferated by distributing the
      postings from one host to another, it is possible to see a
      response to a message before seeing the original.  Giving context
      helps everyone.  But do not include the entire original!

There are a few comments regarding top-postings, the one I preferred being:

"Top quotes vs. inline quotesI gree that if it's a complex matter inline
quotes give you necessary context.  But if I'm in a hurry - e.g. at an
Internet Cafe dealing with a lot of email, a top quote can work well. 
It's a matter for the poster to use good judgement, rather than rigid
rules." (pmarmite)

Anyway, this is off-topic for the discussion.

Cheers,
Fernando