The problem with trimming is you often don't get what the person is
responding to or the flow of the thread. For example now you don't know who
I am responding to. For me it is also confusing. If I delete as I have done
at times and if I forget something the other person wrote, then using Gmail
I can't leave the screen to go back to the original message without losing
what I have written. The trick I have learned (as I learn everything by
experience) is to trim afterwards and then I forget to do so because I have
finished and just want to get on with the next message.
I wonder why trimming is being urged. Are people paying for the hosting
bandwidth or are they merely complaining about download time? I don't know
because I have had broadband for over ten years. I can't even imagine using
dial up today because back when I used dial up the www did not have the
content that it has now. Add to this that people use phones, netbooks and
other devices for accessing the web. It is a confusing issue of enforcing
uniform rules when there is no conformity in the way people are accessing
the forums. I am on many forums and there are few that enforce any rules.
Everything seems to go. I agree that people tend to trim, but not
aggressively.
Being polite requires netiquette, but when it is rigidly applied then it
becomes heavy handed and the person enforcing the rules becomes the villain
and not the person who broke the rules. They come across as inflexible and
rude. The fact is that many newbies do not have a lot of experience on
forums and are coming for help. They SHOULD read the rules, but may not know
the significance of what they are reading. What is top posting anyway to
someone who has never posted? Many may just want quick help and not even
know the importance of community building. Then when we shoot them down for
posting incorrectly we have lost an opportunity to welcome them and educate
them because they may not come back.
I hate rules. It is the anarchist in me. I tolerate them because others seem
to need them. I look at content and ignore the style. I will point out if
someone types in caps or does something wrong not because of my need but
because someone else will not be so kind and will shun them or be rude to
them.
Roy
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