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Re: Quotation style (was Re: How do I use gtkbd ?)
Quoth David Tabachnikov (NetHunter) on Sat, Apr 29, 2000:
> Vadim Vygonets wrote:
> > Please understand that (a) signatures are just waste of bandwith
> > and three hundred times disk space (and there are people who have
> > mailbox quotas and/or use slow modem lines), so while they're OK
> > in general, they're not really great when included six times,
[snip]
> > =================================================================
> > To unsubscribe, send mail to linux-il-request@linux.org.il with
[snip]
> First, I got nothing agains the example you gave,
Maybe it's only me who would like to hear questions before
answers. Maybe I'm weird.
But, let me repeat it once again, it's pretty confusing to see
text such as:
Yes, but only here.
> > I'd like to blah blah blah...
> > --
> > Signature here
> > > > I have a problem...
> > > > --
> > > > Signature here
> > > > =====================
> > > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list..
> > > You should do this and that...
> > > --
> > > Another signature here
> > > =====================
> > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list..
> > =====================
> > To unsubscribe from this mailing list..
> You may do it but...
> --
> And another signature
> =====================
> To unsubscribe from this mailing list..
It's not intuitive to the reader who replies to whom. I don't
say it's above my mental abilities (I'm not _that_ senile yet),
but I don't see it right away, as if it were written like this:
> > > > I have a problem...
> > > You should do this and that...
> > I'd like to blah blah blah...
> You may do it but...
Yes, but only here.
If you understand what I mean. And every message, quoted with
signatures and everything, is a couple of screenfulls. Sadly,
this is what an average message on Linux-IL looks like lately.
> second, I qouted most
> of the original text since it was relevant, At least I thougth so.
This time, maybe. And this flame is not against you personally,
at least not against only you, but against many other people on
Linux-IL as well.
> And if signatures are a waster of bandwith, remove yours.
You probably didn't get the idea. I said that they're OK in
general, but not when quoted six times. For example, you quoted
the automatic footer with unsibscription instructions attached to
my message. While this is relevant to this mailing list, it's
(a) not relevant to the discussion, and (b) will get attached to
your message too, so there's no real need to quote it. And
things like that can be sometimes seen four or even eight times
in one message, because most of you people don't trim quoted
text.
So let me rephrase and redefine it. Signature files are OK as
long as they are:
a. Plain text;
b. Wrapped to 79 characters or less;
c. No longer than four lines;
d. Properly delimited from the message;
e. Not quoted when the message is replied to, unless you
reply to the signature (yes, this happens).
Vadik.
--
If you think C++ is not overly complicated, just what is a protected
abstract virtual base pure virtual private destructor, and when
was the last time you needed one?
-- Tom Cargill, C++ Journal, Fall 1990.
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