About rendering ascii code in a .txt medium

Discussions on OE and Arial in parallel threads made me write this essay.

The correct or incorrect appearance of ascii pics in a .txt medium is
determined by:

the ascii code, which determines character only (including lower case, upper case)

PLUS the following typographical parameters

font face, i.e. Courier, Arial
font size
font color, default is usually black
background color, default is usually white
line spacing, which make pics appear taller or shorter
kerning, i.e. spacing between characters, 
         which make pics appear wider or narrower
alignment, default is usually left justified

and ...

... there are other parameters as well (such as font style, i.e. bold, italic,
etc) but the above parameters are key for most ascii pics.

Please note, that only the ascii code is standardized, and that NONE of the
typographical parameters is standardized. Since the typographical parameters
are absolutely vital for the correct rendition of any ascii pic, their
non-standardization is a constant source of debates, the most common of which
is the proportional vs non-proportional debate.

The simplest text editors have default typographical parameters that users can
not change. This makes it easy for the user to immediately use the software
"out of the box" but can also fool the user into thinking that the appearance
of ascii pics is determined by the ascii code only, which is NOT true. Again,
see the above listing of typographical parameters that will make or break any
ascii pic.

(On the opposite side of the spectrum, high-end word processors, page layout
software and the like, allow the user to change all of the above typographical
parameters and lots and lots more.)

In the past, the simple text editors that were built into email and newsgroup
software have defaulted to non-proportional font, size 9 to 12 for the font
sizes, etc. These common defaults, although not standardized, have allowed for
the correct transmission of ascii pics through email and newsgroup software.

Another example is the default font face on aol, Arial, which allows for the
correct transmission of ascii pics WITHIN aol. But of course, since Arial is a
proportional font, ascii pics transmitted from aol to the outside world (and
vice versa) will be distorted. (I refer to pics made from proportional and
non-proportional fonts as ascii pics, since both are based on ascii code,
albeit with different typographical conventions.)

Therefore, for the time being and for some time to come, it is best to use
Arial for aol only, and non-proportional font only for the rest of the world.

A few words on the future. 

Text editors built into email and newsgroup software are evolving towards more
sophistication, e.g. more and more are defaulting to proportional font. This
evolution is good for general use, e.g. it provides improved legibility (your
own handwriting is proportional) but it is devastating for ascii pics.

Some time ago, Microsoft and working groups of the IETF (Internet Engineering
Task Force) have therefore published recommendedations against the use of
ascii pics on the Internet. But what they (and the ascii community) forget, is
that it is EASY to protect ascii pics by including the above typographical
parameters as part and parcel of the pics, say, in the form of html tags. This
would also allow pics generated within aol to be correctly viewed in the
outside world and vice versa ... 

... and there are many more doors that are opened up. But I stop here, the
issue is still a few years out from becoming both threat and opportunity.
Also, I refer to my past essays illuminating different aspects of the same issue.

=========================================================
[]   .oo     Visit the Gallery of the 'steins!         []
[]  (  -)   http://www3.sympatico.ca/petecasso/        []
[]   " "   Frogstein, who has a point behind his eyes  []
=========================================================

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