[78-L] Yawn ^

[Ken "Silver Showcase"]

David Lennick wrote:
> And in keeping with the style cited, I have placed my response below the quoted 
> text. Now, do you have style guides for cellphone users, airplane passengers, 
> audiences at rock concerts? Where's Miss Manners when we need her? (Probably 
> stuck in traffic, bawling out her assistants and giving the finger to a traffic 
> cop.)
>
> dl
>   

Well, yes.  There ARE appropriate and inappropriate ways to behave on 
cell phones, airplanes, rock concerts, etc.

The guidelines cited for email are not in the least out of line.  Far 
too many people either do nothing at all to set their responses apart 
from the text they are responding to, or they bury it within a large 
chunk of other stuff, or they quote a large chunk of unnecessary text - 
thus making it either annoying or near impossible to find their response 
or to figure out exactly what they are responding to.

Many of us gets lots of email.  When I get messages that ask me guess 
where their response is or what they're responding to I just delete it.

Its hardly out of line to ask people to delete what isn't necessary, and 
to something to set their response apart from what someone else has said 
so that we don't have to guess at who said what.  And its VERY easy to 
do.  If you aren't going to make your email clear and easy to follow 
then don't send it.

Asking people to use common courtesy is not being controlling.  Its 
simply asking them to use, well, common courtesy.

-- Ken