top-post

n. , v. [common] To put the newly-added portion of an email or Usenet
response before the quoted part, as opposed to the more logical sequence of
quoted portion first with original following. The problem with this practice
is neatly summed up by the following FAQ entry: A: No. Q: Should I include
quotations after my reply? This term is generally used pejoratively with the
implication that the offending person is a newbie , a Microsoft addict
(Microsoft mail tools produce a similar format by default), or simply a
common-and-garden-variety idiot. One major problem with top-posting is that
people who do it all too frequently quote the entire parent message rather
than trimming it down to those portions relevent to their reply this makes
threads bulky and unnecessarily difficult to read and arouses the righteous
ire of experienced Internet residents (this style is called TOFU for text
over, fullquote under , or sometimes jeopardy-style quoting ). Another
problem is that top-posters often word their replies on the assumption that
you just read the previous message, even though their perversity has put it
further down the page than you have yet read. Oppose bottom-post.

