Re: Netly News article

Jorn Barger wrote:
> 
> <URL:http://cgi.pathfinder.com/netly/article/0,2334,13735,00.html>
>...
>                       Microsoft handed down a bizarre
>                       pronouncement earlier this week,
>                       declaring that ASCII art is dead.
>...
>                       Jorn Barger, the author of the
>                       1994 FAQ, had a different tip of
>                       the day for Microsoft when
>                       contacted for a response:
>                       "Sophisticated Net users create
>                       tables and graphs and indenting
>                       and centering and borders -- all
>                       requiring a monospaced font." He
>                       wants the software Goliath to
>                       resist a temptation of its own:
>                       "Microsoft feeds on software
>                       bloat. Even if they recognized
>                       'appropriate technology' they'd
>                       still be driven to suppress it." And
>                       what's "cool in its day"? "If Bill
>                       Gates keeps setting his
>                       applications' default font to
>                       proportional, then his users will
>                       continue looking dumb when
>                       their e-mail and Net news
>                       postings don't wrap properly!"

To which Bill would reply: `If the so-called "sophisticated Net users"
were posting and e-mailing in HTML, *like they should*, they wouldn't
*need* to use a monospaced font to create tables and graphs and
indenting and centering and borders -- *and* they'd be able to include
*real* graphics in their messages'.

To which Jorn and a chorus of a.a-ers (PeteCasso excepted, I think)
would reply: `But only a minority of people can read messages sent in
HTML, and besides, it's a ridiculous waste of bandwidth'.

To which Bill would reply: `Well, if they were all using Microsloth's
Outloop Excess, *like they should*, then they would be able to view HTML
messages'.

To which the aforementioned sophisticated Net-users would reply: `Use a
*Microsloth* product? ...

oooooooooo.               oooo                    
oooo                  
`888'   `Y8b              `888                     `888                  
 888     888  .oooo.       888 .oo.    .oooo.       888 .oo.    .oooo.   
 888oooo888' `P  )88b      888P"Y88b  `P  )88b      888P"Y88b  `P  )88b  
 888    `88b  .oP"888      888   888   .oP"888      888   888   .oP"888  
 888    .88P d8(  888      888   888  d8(  888      888   888  d8(  888  
o888bood8P'  `Y888""8o    o888o o888o `Y888""8o    o888o o888o `Y888""8o 
                                                                         
                                                                         
                                                                         
oooo                     .o. .o. .o. 
`888                     888 888 888 
 888 .oo.    .oooo.      888 888 888 
 888P"Y88b  `P  )88b     Y8P Y8P Y8P 
 888   888   .oP"888     `8' `8' `8' 
 888   888  d8(  888     .o. .o. .o. 
o888o o888o `Y888""8o    Y8P Y8P Y8P '

[Roman.flf]

Thus speaketh the *1998* FAQ:
----
    People use ASCII art for a variety of reasons, some of which are:
    *   it is the most universal computer art form in the world --
        every computer system capable of displaying multi-line text can
        display ASCII art, without needing to have a graphics mode or
        support a particular graphics file format;
    *   an ASCII picture is hundreds of times smaller in file size
        than its GIF or BMP equivalent, while still giving a good idea
        of what something looks like;
    *   it is easy to copy from one file to another;
    *   it's fun to do! 
----
And:
----
    But before you start, a word about fonts. For ASCII art you should
    use a fixed-width font [see Question 4], because every type of
    computer system is guaranteed to have one, and that after all is
    one of the main reasons ASCII art exists -- because everyone can
    view it. Different fixed- width fonts do vary slightly in the
    height of the characters, but for most drawings this doesn't matter
    that much.

    DON'T try to post pictures drawn in a proportional-width (ie
    non-fixed-width) font: even if you specify the exact font you used,
    the chances of other people being able to read it are pretty slim
    (even `standard' proportional fonts such as Times New Roman can
    vary in width from computer to computer).
----

Anyway, well said, Jorn!

Yours in fixed-width
-- __
  /_/\   Matthew Thomas, who wasn't interviewed by anyone :-)
 _\_\/_  http://cantua.canterbury.ac.nz/~mpt26/ (Site for sore eyes)
/_/\/_/\ ASCII ART FAQ: http://cantua.canterbury.ac.nz/~mpt26/art/ascii/
\_\/\_\/ <-- If this looks weird, you should be using a fixed-width font

PS: As you can see, I have my own Web site now, complete with ASCII FAQ!
Don't everyone rush at once looking for pictures there, though, because
I have exactly THREE pictures on-site ...

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