Kevin McLauchlan wrote:
1) I am in a dozen lists of various kinds, and many people prefer to have reply text *above* the edited, quoted text, so that they can read the answer and not need to scroll down unless they need a reminder about the matter being addressed.
Although in general this may be true (though the attitude towards this may be changing.... it's a matter of etiquette, I believe), my impression is that for a technical list like this one it's better to start with the essential part of the quote, and have your reply follow. It also gives you the opportunity to respond directly to several parts of the quote (two in this message, for example). What I find really amazing, is when someone responds to a thread where everyone has his/her reply at the end, by suddenly putting the reply at the beginning. The thread quickly turns into a big mess this way - how should the next respondant reply?
2) Equally, on many lists, many people ask explicitly to be CC:'d because they are on digest, or because their filters automatically file list messages and they want a copy to remain in their inbox until they can notice that someone has responded to them directly (as opposed to generic replies to the list).
I would think it's more elegant to send them a separate message. SH