> I was discussing this very matter with a colleague but half an hour ago;
> he/she serves as an editor on a well respected international academic
> journal.  Her/his opinion is that top posting is the only appropriate
> method.  Thus, there are differences of opinion.

"There are differences of opinion" is all that can be gained from this 
though, appeal to authority is a logical fallacy ;)

> May we all settle this once and for all if it is insisted that based on
> one's response ordering, threading, etc., work will be put into the
> dustbin (/dev/null, spam, trash, whatever)?  May the "owner/s" of this
> list put forward official standards of etiquette as well as clarity
> about the matter of threading, and the correct method(s) so that
> threading will be respected?

Even if there were such a thing, it would be hard to enforce it, beyond 
social interactions.

Personally, I prefer the bottom posting with interspersing *key* points 
of information, otherwise it just becomes a big pile of spaghetti :)

However, if a thread starts to do top posting, I will try to follow that 
convention.

BTW, this sort of argument is colloquially known as Bikeshedding. I 
suggest everyone with a vested interest in this look it up ;)

Hope all is well with everyone,
-Chris