zero 0000 wrote:
[...]
I think (but I'm not sure) that the practice of putting replies at the top began when some popular software (Microsoft, I bet) made that the easiest option. That's when the real wars started, maybe in the late 1990s as you say, but the reason for the wars was that it violated prior practice, not because nobody cared before.
Yes, Microsoft software has been a major contributor to this phenomenum. It also contributes to HTML posting on Usenet.
Another major turning point for Usenet was September 1993, also known as "The September that never ended". Up until that date, Usenet underwent trauma each year in September when first year students came to U.S. universities and began using Usenet for the first time. Because they were new to it, they violated the cultural norms that had been established by the community. But, until 1993 experienced Usenet users were able to deal with the problem and acculturate the relatively small number of newcomers. But during that month in 1993 AOL gave it members access to Usenet. The massive number of new users overwhelmed the system and September 1993 came to be called "The September that never ended". I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out that "top-posting" became permanently prevalent after this.
Bill