A colleague of mine used to say, "It makes as much sense as using a 
vernier to measure a turd."  Perhaps Bikeshedding is a more refined 
term.

-- 
Clint

On Thu, 30 Jun 2011, Chris Tooley wrote:

>>  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
>