On Dec 2, 5:59 pm, Sacha wrote:
On 2/12/07 17:51, in article
t, "Sally Thompson"





wrote:
On Sun, 2 Dec 2007 16:46:17 +0000, Sacha wrote
(in article ) :

On 2/12/07 14:30, in article
t, "Sally Thompson"
wrote:

On Sun, 2 Dec 2007 10:04:54 +0000, Nick Maclaren wrote
(in article ):

snip

1) Using characters that have no representation in ASCII
(1/2 being one, pound being another). If it isn't on the main
part of your keyboard in either unshifted or prime shift form,
don't use it (e.g. don't use Alt). And don't use pound on a UK
keyboard.

Which is why you will notice the frequent use of GBP in place of the pound
sign on usenet - among those who know :-) You may have realised that on
your
Mac keyboard, Sacha, you can only get the hash sign by using Alt/Option + 3
(the hash sign apparently being used by Merkins for the pound sign).

No, I hadn't realised that, so thanks, Sally. I don't think I've ever used
it and as far as I know the £ sign comes through clearly. I'm x-ing my
fingers as I type that. On this new machine's keyboard it's alt+fn=#

Well obviously it shows up correctly to me, but the point is that it wouldn't
necessarily do so to someone with a US (or other than British) keyboard -
because such symbols are in different places on different keyboards. This is
important in an international forum such as usenet. Your keyboard is I assume
set to English layout, so that you do in fact get the pound sign just by
Shift+3.

Hmmmmm - is this where I take up a "Europe cut off my fog" attitude? ;-))

Europe *never* cut off your fog, Sacha, honest ;-)

But seriously, if you want to see mangled, you should try
corresponding with frogs using web-based email. All accents, cedilles
and other items come through as series of letters and other
characters. On one of my accounts, the accented letters are simply
omitted altogether. This makes for pretty interesting reading...

But in essence, I suspect you're right. It was a case of the US (who
seem to have invented most computer language protocol) declaring that
the non-Anglo world was cut off by fog.

Cat(h)