Re: Full-screen DOS on laptops (was: Memory problems with XyDOS (4) under Win98?)

[Wolfgang Bechstein wolfie@xxxxxxxx]

Robert Holmgren  wrote:

> You mean, attribute quotes to the original sender, "so-and-so spake
> thus on date x", that sort of thing?

No, I perfectly hate those cutesy phrases myself. In my opinion, the
default of many mail readers, namely " wrote:" is just fine.

> Why? I'm not referencing people, but ideas.

That is all well and good in principle, but in practice discussions
on mailing lists are often linked to people. At least that's how it
works in my mind, and I wonder whether I am all alone in this. I find
that--especially on fairly 'intimate' lists such as this--I form a
mental image of frequent contributors, and knowing who said what
helps me keep track of the information as well. Of course, the image
I form of people may be quite removed from what they are in real life,
but within the limited framework of e-mail interaction, on-line
personae are surprisingly consistent. (Which is why I for one did not
for one minute expect the SmartWords beta to ship on a certain
announced date.)

> I try quote the idea carefully, editing the dross and keeping the
> essence.

A very laudable practice that should be followed by all.

> But who cares who said it, or when?

As for the "when", I also think it is not very important. But if you
are of the same opinion, I wonder why it is that you attribute
messages with full date and time, right down to the seconds, thus:

> ** Reply to note from xywrite@xxxxxxxx Wed, 24 Nov 1999 00:48:09 +0900

Why not leave this entire line out then, since it hardly adds any
useful information? After all, we do know that this is the XyWrite
list, although it went through a bit of an NB-induced identity crisis
lately...

Wolfgang Bechstein
wolfie@xxxxxxxx