XPost: sci.lang, alt.usage.english

On 12/02/2025 08:07, Jeff Barnett wrote:

Peter, if you are going to edit the messages (plural) that you
are replying to, make sure the attributions don't get screwed up.
In the

I'm glad I found that, because it saves me from misquoting. I remembered
it as "if you must edit the messages ...", but it's a milder wording. In
any case, this is nothing to do with Jeff Barnett, except that it
reminded me of something that I had intended to write about anyway.

Must I edit what I quote? Yes, I must, because that's what the accepted
rules say. It's always been considered rude to quote a lot of
material and then add a line or two at the end, forcing people to scroll
to find the response. Way back in the early days of Usenet, you couldn't
get news access until you had read the introductory documents, and some
of those reminded you of the niceties of posting. This all fell apart
when AOL and Eternal September (the date, not the news server) arrived.
Still, most experienced Usenet users remember the basics of good posting habits.

The most basic rule is "don't irritate or bore your readers". That one's
not written down, but any good writer understands it.

The rule that used to be written down was something like "quote what
you're responding to, and a little more if needed to establish the
context; but no more than that". Responsible trimming is kind to the reader.

What I've noticed in AUE lately is that very few posters trim properly.
The culprits aren't trolls, because we've had few trolls since Google
Groups suicided. I'm talking about Respected Regulars.

Why? I suspect the effect of ageing. There's only one case of obvious
dementia among the regulars here, but many of us have reached the "why
did I come into this room?" stage. I suspect that we're gradually losing
our writing skills, but so slowly that we don't notice.

(Sorry if I sound as if I have the shits. I have. I'm in the middle of
my bowel preparation for tomorrow's colonoscopy.)

--
Peter Moylan peter@pmoylan.org http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW

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What I've noticed in AUE lately is that very few posters trim
properly.

Huh? Who said that?

--
Richard Heathfield
Email: rjh at cpax dot org dot uk
"Usenet is a strange place" - dmr 29 July 1999
:-)

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On Wed, 19 Feb 2025 9:35:00 +0000, occam wrote:

What I've noticed in AUE lately is that very few posters trim properly.

Huh? Who said that?

....and why did I come here for in the first place?

Ah, yes, I remember now - I wanted to know who Peter M. thinks "There's
only one case of obvious dementia among the regulars here [in AUE]"?

You are all demented, fermented and cemented in inane smartypants
trivia.

Woof-woof woof woof-woof woof woof

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What I've noticed in AUE lately is that very few posters trim properly.

Huh? Who said that?

...and why did I come here for in the first place?


Ah, yes, I remember now - I wanted to know who Peter M. thinks "There's
only one case of obvious dementia among the regulars here [in AUE]"?

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On 19/02/25 20:35, occam wrote:

What I've noticed in AUE lately is that very few posters trim
properly.

Huh? Who said that?

...and why did I come here for in the first place?

Ah, yes, I remember now - I wanted to know who Peter M. thinks
"There's only one case of obvious dementia among the regulars here
[in AUE]"?

I see that Arindam responded to that, but he wasn't the one I had in
mind. He's deluded in a very focused way, arising from his passion to
prove Einstein wrong.

I'd give the award to the clucking hen.

--
Peter Moylan peter@pmoylan.org http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW

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Maybe we'll even come to commit the worst trangression of all.


On Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:00 +0100
occam <occam@nowhere.nix> wrote:

What I've noticed in AUE lately is that very few posters trim properly.

Huh? Who said that?

...and why did I come here for in the first place?

Ah, yes, I remember now - I wanted to know who Peter M. thinks "There's
only one case of obvious dementia among the regulars here [in AUE]"?

--
Bah, and indeed Humbug.

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On Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:47:46 +0000, Peter Moylan wrote:

On 19/02/25 20:35, occam wrote:

What I've noticed in AUE lately is that very few posters trim
properly.

Huh? Who said that?

...and why did I come here for in the first place?

Ah, yes, I remember now - I wanted to know who Peter M. thinks
"There's only one case of obvious dementia among the regulars here
[in AUE]"?

I see that Arindam responded to that, but he wasn't the one I had in
mind. He's deluded in a very focused way, arising from his passion to
prove Einstein wrong.

Anybody with minimum honesty - that is to say, none among the following anti-Arindam pullulating parasites: physicists, professors, plutocrats, politicians, pimps, presstitutes, prostitutes, etc. that lie, steal and
cheat for their living - knows that Einstein was wrong. Tesla was more trenchant about Einstein's wrongness than is Arindam.

Arindam has put poetry, physics, morality and good sense back on the
rails for a wonderful future for the world.

Those who profit from chaos, pollution and theft - all in top positions
or aspire to be there - are naturally inimical to him.

Woof-woof woof woof-woof woof woof-woof woof

Bertietaylor (Arindam's celestial cyberdogs)

htresearch.com

has what it takes to set things straight.

I'd give the award to the clucking hen.

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In article <vp42sd$260pf$1@dont-email.me>,
peter@pmoylan.org says...

On 12/02/2025 08:07, Jeff Barnett wrote:

Peter, if you are going to edit the messages (plural) that you
are replying to, make sure the attributions don't get screwed up.
In the

I'm glad I found that, because it saves me from misquoting. I remembered
it as "if you must edit the messages ...", but it's a milder wording. In
any case, this is nothing to do with Jeff Barnett, except that it
reminded me of something that I had intended to write about anyway.

Must I edit what I quote? Yes, I must, because that's what the accepted
rules say. It's always been considered rude to quote a lot of
material and then add a line or two at the end, forcing people to scroll
to find the response. Way back in the early days of Usenet, you couldn't
get news access until you had read the introductory documents, and some
of those reminded you of the niceties of posting. This all fell apart
when AOL and Eternal September (the date, not the news server) arrived. Still, most experienced Usenet users remember the basics of good posting habits.

The most basic rule is "don't irritate or bore your readers". That one's
not written down, but any good writer understands it.

The rule that used to be written down was something like "quote what
you're responding to, and a little more if needed to establish the
context; but no more than that". Responsible trimming is kind to the reader.

What I've noticed in AUE lately is that very few posters trim properly.
The culprits aren't trolls, because we've had few trolls since Google
Groups suicided. I'm talking about Respected Regulars.

Why? I suspect the effect of ageing. There's only one case of obvious dementia among the regulars here,

Hell, there is someone here with obvious dementia but I
haven't noticed and don't know who it is?

Now I'm worried it must be me.



Janet

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On 20/02/2025 08:19, Steve Hayes wrote:

<snip>

I think the trend was
started by Microsoft, who think that it's their job to make the rules.

Or perhaps it simply never occurred to them that there might
already /be/ rules?

--
Richard Heathfield
Email: rjh at cpax dot org dot uk
"Usenet is a strange place" - dmr 29 July 1999
Sig line 4 vacant - apply within

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On Wed, 19 Feb 2025 18:57:00 +1100, Peter Moylan <peter@pmoylan.org>
wrote:

The rule that used to be written down was something like "quote what
you're responding to, and a little more if needed to establish the
context; but no more than that". Responsible trimming is kind to the reader.

The rules are still written down here:

https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1855

What I've noticed in AUE lately is that very few posters trim properly.
The culprits aren't trolls, because we've had few trolls since Google
Groups suicided. I'm talking about Respected Regulars.

Modern email readers tend to make it difficult. I think the trend was
started by Microsoft, who think that it's their job to make the rules.



--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

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