Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mcsun!ukc!dcl-cs!gdt!exspes From: exspes@gdr.bath.ac.uk (P E Smee) Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions Subject: Re: article replying/usenet Message-ID: <1991Feb27.093813.17106@gdr.bath.ac.uk> Date: 27 Feb 91 09:38:13 GMT References: Reply-To: P.Smee@bristol.ac.uk (Paul Smee) Organization: University of Bristol c/o University of Bath Lines: 26 In article dblack@pilot.njin.net (David Alan Black) writes: > >Specifically, is there a particular program which generates the line >"In article soandso@machine.etc (So and So) writes:" >Or does each respondent synthesize this by hand???? On both the newsreaders I'm familiar with (rn and trn), using a capital letter for the followup and reply commands generates this stuff and marks the inclusion (with > by default). That is, for both: f puts you into an editor buffer to input a followup F As 'f', but with the ' writes' and the quoted original r puts you into an editor buffer to input a personal mail reply R As 'r', but with the .... Some points of etiquette. If you are including parts from an original message you should trim it so you've only included the parts you need to establish the context; otherwise things get tedious. However, you should be careful NOT to trim the original in a way which distorts what the original said. When references get deeply nested, they can often usefully be trimmed even more, but you need to be careful that you don't end up making it look like the wrong person said something. -- Paul Smee, Computing Service, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1UD, UK P.Smee@bristol.ac.uk - ..!uunet!ukc!bsmail!p.smee - Tel +44 272 303132