[HPFGU-Feedback] Mail Formats (was Re: An Elfly Reminder)

[Shaun Hately]

On 22 Aug 2006 at 19:52, Jordan Abel wrote:

> I would like permission (both from you [Lee Storm] personally and from
> the elves) to start an experiment: zero quote posting.
> 
> Basically, any reply would, instead of quoting pieces of others'
> message with indentation, instead appropriately paraphrase for
> context. Where necessary (that is, when the wording itself is what's
> being responded to), _short_ verbatim quotes could be included, but
> properly included in text with an indication of what was said and
> included in proper "quotation marks" rather than indented with ascii
> right angle bracket signs.
> 
> So how about it? Would that be acceptable? It seems to me that such a
> thing would be the best solution, at least for posters willing to put
> the necessary amount of effort in.

Hi Jordan,

Before posting in reply to this, I should just point out that I am one of the list elves myself. I 
am incredibly busy at the moment, so haven't been able to post in this discussion, even 
though I have been following it.

The problem with this suggestion from *my* perspective is that in my experience, people 
often misunderstand the point that another poster was making, for whatever reason. Even 
people who do put a lot of effort into their posts.

And that would make me very worried about the idea of people paraphrasing what I said 
rather than quoting it - because if they misunderstood the point I was making, their 
paraphrasing might very well wind up not accurately representing what I said.

For some people, that might not matter - it depends on the type of things they discuss - but in 
my own case, sometimes I wind up discussing issues where fine distinctions matter quite a 
bit, and can also relate to issues that are potentially significant to me professionally - the last 
thing I need is someone going around claiming I think teachers should be allowed to bully 
students, when in fact, I just believe teachers should be allowed to be extremely strict, for 
example. And because different people put the lines in different places, if people started 
paraphrasing what I had written on certain issues, I could see that happening very easily.

Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought
Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html
(ISTJ)       | drednort at ... | ICQ: 6898200 
"You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one
thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the 
facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be 
uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that 
need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil
Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia