Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2010 19:08:56 -0500
From: "Mike B." <omni at omniphile.com>
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: gah! let's try that again - Re: google word list
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>

On 12/20/2010 5:23 PM, Ted White wrote:
> On 12/20/2010 9:16 AM, Michael Walsh wrote:
>
>>   Ted's email reader stripped out Keith's ^^^^^ and your email reader
>>   doesn't play well with Keith's email system.

> Actually, *I* stripped them, because as soon as the line length changed
> they no longer underlined the appropriate word.  Frankly, I thought they
> were just some strange artifact.

No, they are a fairly standard (common anyway...especially for those who
learned to use computers before proportional fonts) method to indicate
what word in the preceding text you are referring to with your comments.
  Underlining wasn't an option on ASCII terminals in any sort of
standard or transmissible manner, and some terminals couldn't do it at all.

> Like those odd equal signs which get distributed through your text at
> line-ends.  I'd clean up your quote, but frankly I don't know where to
> begin.

Yeah, there are reasons why the more experienced netizens prefer plain
ASCII text in e-mail...at least for English language messages.

-- Mike B.