# Email: newest on top, or newest on bottom? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 30, 2005, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-newest-on-top-or-newest-on-bottom/310526 "2005-06-30T15:16:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-newest-on-top-or-newest-on-bottom/310526/1 "2005-06-30T15:16:18Z")
I’m curious, how do you have your email client set up, and why? Do new messages appear on top of your inbox, or on the bottom? Mine is set up with them appearing on top. It’s inconsistent with the way everything else on the computer works, and would make more sense logically to have them appear on the bottom, but I’m set in my ways and don’t want to change. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-newest-on-top-or-newest-on-bottom/310526/2 "2005-06-30T15:24:42Z")
Top. Only serial killers sort their inbox so that the newest are on the bottom. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-newest-on-top-or-newest-on-bottom/310526/3 "2005-06-30T15:29:19Z")
> [@UrbanChic](#): > > Top. Only serial killers sort their inbox so that the newest are on the bottom. Heh, heh. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-newest-on-top-or-newest-on-bottom/310526/4 "2005-06-30T15:30:06Z")
Newest at the bottom. I’m coming to get you… ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-newest-on-top-or-newest-on-bottom/310526/5 "2005-06-30T15:30:15Z")
At work, newest on the bottom. At home, newest on top. I’m just crazy that way. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-newest-on-top-or-newest-on-bottom/310526/6 "2005-06-30T15:37:51Z")
New on top, same with newsgroups. I like not having to wade through a bunch of old stuff to seen the newest messages. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-newest-on-top-or-newest-on-bottom/310526/7 "2005-06-30T15:44:24Z")
Newest on top, but I start reading them with the bottom one. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-newest-on-top-or-newest-on-bottom/310526/8 "2005-06-30T16:17:41Z")
> [@Harimad-sol](#): > > Newest on top, but I start reading them with the bottom one. What she said. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-newest-on-top-or-newest-on-bottom/310526/9 "2005-06-30T16:28:14Z")
Bottom… really, we read top to bottom, when we write schedules, we do: 8:00 … 9:00 … 10:00 … from top to bottom. When we list things in sequential order, we list them from top to bottom. Obviously, email should be from top to bottom. Oldest at the top. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-newest-on-top-or-newest-on-bottom/310526/10 "2005-06-30T16:35:01Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > Bottom… > > really, we read top to bottom, when we write schedules, we do: > > 8:00 … > 9:00 … > 10:00 … > > from top to bottom. When we list things in sequential order, we list them from top to bottom. > > Obviously, email should be from top to bottom. Oldest at the top. Agreed. I guess that makes us serial killers! ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-newest-on-top-or-newest-on-bottom/310526/11 "2005-06-30T16:41:55Z")
So tell me, what do you find to be the best method to dispose of a body? Knowing you bottom-sorters, you probably keep the bodies around, arranged from oldest to freshest kill. Sickos. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-newest-on-top-or-newest-on-bottom/310526/12 "2005-06-30T17:07:44Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > > [@Harimad-sol](#): > > > > Newest on top, but I start reading them with the bottom one. > > What she said. Me, too. I started doing it because I once had an e-mail client that considered the “next” e-mail to be the one above it. So in order to have the next e-mail open automatically when I deleted the one I was currently reading, I had to keep the new ones at the top but start from the bottom. I think that all of my current clients can be configured to open whatever I want as the “next” e-mail, but it’s habit now and I don’t feel compelled to change it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-newest-on-top-or-newest-on-bottom/310526/13 "2005-06-30T17:16:25Z")
Top. Unless I accidently flag one of the messages. Then the new ones appear in the middle and I have to hunt for them. I really should clean out my inbox. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-newest-on-top-or-newest-on-bottom/310526/14 "2005-06-30T17:21:16Z")
E-mail: Newest on the bottom. So that I read them in order. Bodies: Same. Obviously, you want to dispose of the oldest first, because they’re the stinkiest. I try not to let them pile up, but these things are hard to stay on top of. I mean, I’ve already got four in the resevoir, five in the woods, and three have gone up the chimney. As soon as I finish that lime pit in the basement, though, all my problems will be solved. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-newest-on-top-or-newest-on-bottom/310526/15 "2005-06-30T19:05:39Z")
Newest on the bottom if I’m sorting by date (which I am, by default, but I often temporarily sort by FROM to walk through all recent correspondence from somebody-or-other. More rarely, sorted by SUBJECT). ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Stilettos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Red\_Stilettos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Stilettos)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-newest-on-top-or-newest-on-bottom/310526/16 "2005-06-30T19:11:24Z")
Newest at the top. I don’t like have to scroll down to see my new messages. Also, reading them in order is rarely a problem. The folks I correspond with aren’t prolific enough for me to ever have more than about 20 new messages, and those are spread across three accounts. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-newest-on-top-or-newest-on-bottom/310526/17 "2005-06-30T19:13:04Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > Me, too. > > I started doing it because… Who are you trying to kid? It’s because you’re a creepy stalker girl! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Strinka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strinka/32/512_2.png) [@Strinka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strinka)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-newest-on-top-or-newest-on-bottom/310526/18 "2005-06-30T19:16:35Z")
Top. Makes 'em easy to find. However, I also do as **Harimad-sol** , **twickster** and **Misnomer** , because I want to read my oldest new messages first. If there is an e-mail pertaining to an earlier e-mail, I want to know what the earlier one said. ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-newest-on-top-or-newest-on-bottom/310526/19 "2005-06-30T19:23:04Z")
Used to do newest at bottom when I was in university, using pine. 😃 Nowadays tho, the custom at my workplace is new on top, so my habits got reversed to match when at work. Still go back to old habits when using non-work mail - go figure. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-newest-on-top-or-newest-on-bottom/310526/20 "2005-06-30T19:33:00Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Who are you trying to kid? It’s because you’re a creepy stalker girl! 😉 Hey! I’m staying away from all MAD Dopefests, just like the judge said… 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-newest-on-top-or-newest-on-bottom/310526.md?page=2)