List Members FAQ

Should I quote the entire email or digest I'm replying to?

(aka Why it's okay to run with scissors on an email list)

Always remember that everyone else on the list has already gotten the original email that you're replying to, so it's never necessary to quote the entire email and absolutely unnecessary under any circumstances to quote an entire digest! Beyond simple common courtesy, some countries (like large parts of Europe) still charge for local phone service by the minute so every unneeded word in your email costs them money to download. Also, quoting extra unnecessary text can result in your words getting lost, losing their impact as people struggle to find what you're saying. If you quote the entire original email and put your reply at the bottom, people who are sight-impaired and using text readers to hear your email will have to listen to the original email all over again before getting to your comments and may simply give up and skip your email (and any future emails from you) entirely.

So, in order to communicate effectively, to entice people to read your gems of wisdom :), snip, snip, snip and snip some more! Delete any extraneous header info that your mail program may have quoted, leave the sender's name so people know who you're talking to, then delete unneeded text, whittle it down to the pertinent points you're responding to. Remember that people have already read the original email, so you only need enough text to jog their memory about what you're replying to. If you're responding to a single point in an email, it is acceptable to put your reply at the top of the email with the original email below BUT don't forget to snip anyway, leave just the original pertinent text and the sender's name or email address.

If your reply is complex, responding to three or four or more points or questions in the original email, then it's better if you intersperse your replies with the quoted text, like this:

Mary, Helen or Pat said:
> blah-dee blah-dee, blah-dee dee-dee and more
> blah-dee blah-dee, blah-dee dee-dee

(signed) Any Tom, Dick or Harry

Using that method, it reads like a conversation, one person says something, then another replies, then the first person says something else and the second replies again. If you lurk for a bit after joining a list, you'll get a feel for how replies are handled and can then follow that example. But even if everyone else replies on top and quotes the entire original email below, PLEASE snip unnecessary text! It's a good habit to develop and will come in handy on other lists, plus it reduces bandwidth on the net, it's the virtual version of recycling newspapers and soda pop cans.