Why *is* it called ASCII Art ?

The ASCII.art FAQ mentions that  

>  Before computers, ASCII art was made on typewriters,
> teletype machines (5 bit), and was created typographically.  There are even
> tee-shirts with the :-) smiley.

This raises a couple of questions:

1.  What was it called when done on typewriters  (before ASCII code was
invented)?

2.  Why is it called ASCII art now?

To elaborate:
Yes, it was done on typewriters, and I'm sure it was not called ASCII art then.

Any when done one teletypes with 5-bit codes, I'm sure it was not called
ASCII art.

Then, it was done on computers like the IBM 1401, which used 6-bit
characters in BCD code.   I don't think it was called BCD art then, and it
_certainly_ wasn't called ASCII art.

Then, when 8-bit machines like the IBM /360 came along,  they used EBCDIC
code.   I don't think it was called EBCDIC art then, and it _certainly_
wasn't called ASCII art.

Now, with the prevalence of PCs, using ASCII characters, someone has
decided that this character-based art is to be called ASCII art.    

When you think of it, once the characters are on paper, or even on a
screen, the fact that they possibly were orginally stored with 5 or 6  or
7 or 8 bits inside some computer memory has nothing to do with the art
itself;   so,
can someone clarify how the term "ASCII art" came about?  And is there any
rationale behind the fact that it clearly HAS come about?

regards,
Ken West

In article <ken...@voyager13.lglobal.com>, Ken West
<ken...@lglobal.com> writes
>The ASCII.art FAQ mentions that  
>
>>  Before computers, ASCII art was made on typewriters,
>> teletype machines (5 bit), and was created typographically.  There are even
>> tee-shirts with the :-) smiley.
>
>This raises a couple of questions:
>
>1.  What was it called when done on typewriters  (before ASCII code was
>invented)?

            Typewriter art.  When it was on lineprinters
in the 1970s I never heard a specific name, but I 
suppose it might have been called lineprinter art :-)

[those I saw were shading--nudes, Mona Lisa, etc;
I have no idea how the images were converted, perhaps manually]

>
>2.  Why is it called ASCII art now?

    Despite your elegant reasoning, an ASCII file has become
  synonymous with a  'plain text' file such as text editors edit,
  without font or layout information and therefore displayed
  in the standard system (typewriter) font.


                      
--Regards,                        Woof Woof,     Glug  Glug--
  X E M U *                     Who Drowned   theJUDGe's Dog ?
   s p 4   \        |\       answers on  (alt.religion.scientology!
           /~~~~~~~  @----,  ++++++++++++(/x/clam/faq/woofglug.html    
-;'^';,_,-;^;  : : : :http://www.demon.net/castle/x/clam/index.html
                                   

On 20 May 1996, Ken West wrote:
> The ASCII.art FAQ mentions that
> >  Before computers, ASCII art was made on typewriters,
> > teletype machines (5 bit), and was created typographically.  There are even
> > tee-shirts with the :-) smiley.
> This raises a couple of questions:
> 1.  What was it called when done on typewriters  (before ASCII code was
> invented)?
Well, according to Andrew Belsey, who posted to this group awhile back, he
says that there is a book available called:
Typewriter Art, edited by Alan Riddell (London, 1975) ISBN
0-900626-99-2
>
> 2.  Why is it called ASCII art now?
> Now, with the prevalence of PCs, using ASCII characters, someone has
> decided that this character-based art is to be called ASCII art.
> When you think of it, once the characters are on paper, or even on a
> screen, the fact that they possibly were orginally stored with 5 or 6  or
> 7 or 8 bits inside some computer memory has nothing to do with the art
> itself;   so,
> can someone clarify how the term "ASCII art" came about?  And is there any
> rationale behind the fact that it clearly HAS come about?
> regards, Ken West
It wasn't just someone who popularized the phrase ascii-art. It was all
those who voted in alt.config. A year ago I subscribed to alt.config and
discovered that 100 votes plus a lot of convincing to create a new Usenet
group. I wish I was around to be a lurker back then but hey they made a
good vote of it! Maybe Scarecrow knows more about the alt.config story? I
don't even know if alt.config is still there? Ahhh break time is over.
take care, Jon
                                       ____
                               __,-~~/~    `---.
                             _/_,---(      ,    )
                         __ /        <    /   )  \___
          - ------===;;;'====------------------===;;;===----- -  -
                            \/  ~"~"~"~"~"~\~"~)~"/
                            (_ (   \  (     >    \)
                              \_( _ <         >_>'
                                ~ `-M' ::>|--"
                                    M;|.|.|
                                    M;|.|.|
  wha...@u.washington.edu          M;|.|.|    See the light.....
 Jon & Jen having a bad day.       <Ii::|i|`.
                                  (` ^'"`-' ")
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Nuclear Explosion Mushroom   by Bill March
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Re: Re: Why *is* it called ASCII Art ?





  ASCII for the art, get the ANSII....hopefully. :)


                                              Pleasant

Pleasant (ple...@snook.com) wrote:
: Re: Re: Why *is* it called ASCII Art ?
: 
:   ASCII for the art, get the ANSII....hopefully. :)
: 
:                                               Pleasant

ASCII stands for the char set used and art is that it is pictures made
from it.

Like my skulls in my sig made from ASCII chars and are a picture so
is ASCII Art.

Does that explan things.
-- 
  _____                                    _____
 /     \                                  /     \
| () () |    pdo...@metz.une.edu.au    | () () |
 \  ^  /  ___  __  _   _ _    _   _ _   _ \  ^  /
  |||||  |    |__|  \_/  |    |   |  \_/   |||||
  |||||  |___ | \    |   |___ |___| _/ \_  |||||