[Chris Breen]

n4hhe said:

If a snippet of message prompts a reply then only that snippet should be resent with the reply.

Your "time" argument only serves to reinforce my earlier statement that those who can not form a proper reply are not worth the time to read, help, or otherwise reply.

Apparently you and I receive completely different kinds of email. I receive a couple of hundred messages a day. I reply to perhaps half of them. Many of them are several paragraphs long and merit a reply that demands no more than a sentence or two to address the overall issue contained in the message. I top-post proudly in these instances to save the recipient scrolling down to read my reply. I'd like to think that because I'm discussing work matters my reply is indeed worth their time.

I agree that in instances where a message demands replies to specific points it makes loads of sense to separate those points and reply to them individually.

My point in this particular discussion is that some flexibility can be exercised, depending on the kind of message you receive. To doggedly demand that email be replied to in one way, and one way only, strikes me as cantankerous -- the email equivalent of "Hey you kids, get off my lawn!"

[srollans]

n4hhe said:

Quote

Certainly there are rare occasions when time does not permit, but that is not the crux of this discussion. The problem is those who never make the time to present a quality attempt at communication. Is exactly the same as with those who will not take the time or effort to check spelling, no matter that live spelling check is a nearly universal feature.

... and then there's the related problem of people who clearly have too much time on their hands.