Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site osu-eddie.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!osu-eddie!karl From: karl@osu-eddie.UUCP (Karl Kleinpaste) Newsgroups: net.news Subject: Re: FYI: underlining/highlighting in news articles Message-ID: <2@osu-eddie.UUCP> Date: Tue, 4-Dec-84 22:09:40 EST Article-I.D.: osu-eddi.2 Posted: Tue Dec 4 22:09:40 1984 Date-Received: Thu, 6-Dec-84 03:05:23 EST Organization: Society for the Advancement of Raw Weirdness Lines: 70 For crying out loud, this has *really* gotten out of hand... ---------- > I STILL don't recommend playing these games-- someone is going to get > burned by it. ---------- Yeah. Me. (1) I received quite a herd of mail (herd: >10 letters) asking me very politely how I got reverse video or underlining into my postings. (The interpretation varies from one terminal/termcap-description to another as to whether you saw it as underlined or highlighted.) Hence, I thought I was doing the net public a genuine favor when I posted what is evidently an undocumented and sometimes well-liked feature of the news system. (2) I note editorially that the degree of civility and politeness with which the posting was greeted has been considerably less than exemplary. That is, by those who didn't like it, of course. (3) Someone (can't remember who, doesn't matter) posted to the effect that he reads news from EMACS, and that this feature caused him some consternation when reading postings with said feature in use. Well, if you deal with the news system with software other than the news software, you are up your own creek, and you can't expect any help from anybody whatsoever; you deserve what you get. You are using a tool designed for one particular job for an entirely different job. For news, use software which is designed for news. If you must retrofit EMACS to do news, see to it first that EMACS does the whole job correctly. (4) I did not advocate the usage of escape sequences of any kind; I noted that this feature worked using simple backspace (^H), which is not a pathological use of any terminal I've ever seen. (Yes, I've seen some pretty bizarre ones.) (5) Even if I *had* advocated the usage of escape sequences (such as highlighting for vt100 series terminals), Mark Horton has already posted to the effect that the news software traps crap like that, strips it out, and sends it on its way in a form which disallows damage to anybody else. (6) The fact that the feature exists in the news software indicates that somebody somewhere for some reason thought it would be a good, neat, useful idea. I happen to agree. That person added it. I'm glad. Evidently, it was not implemented fully, in that not all terminals which can be used with the news software can deal with it. I have one flame in my mail which objects LOUDLY to the fact that it has hung up their terminal. Now I'm not so glad any more. (I don't even know what type of terminal it was; just keep it away from me.) With all the due respect that I can muster for the news software authors, let this be a lesson to you about half-implementations of features. If you can't do it *completely*, please be kind and don't do it *at all*. (7) I have already stopped using this apparent misfeature, and have reverted to (ugh) *asterisks* and CAPITALIZATION, though I avoid \weird slashes/ and s p a c e d w o r d s with a passion. (8) I have already posted a general retraction of the suggestion, cancelled the original article, and cancelled a followup which I wrote in response to the beginnings of the hate mail I got. So...LET'S JUST QUIT DISCUSSING IT. Geez, to think I was trying to do somebody a favor...I genuinely feel that I did not earn the abuse which I have received, particularly in the mail. -- From the badly beaten keyboards of best address---+ him who speaks in *TyPe* f-O-n-T-s... | V Karl Kleinpaste @ Bell Labs, Columbus 614/860-5107 {cbosgd,ihnp4}!cbrma!kk @ Ohio State University 614/422-0915 cbosgd!osu-eddie!karl