> > Do you notice how there is an right angle bracket > > before each sentence Turq posts? He learned that > > from Judy over on Usenet, years ago. Others just > > use text wrap and so it looks messy with only one > > right angle bracket. Sometimes, when newbies post > > they don't snip, so the whole thing becomes a > > jumble to look at. > > > > Remember, you're dealing with professional writers > > with Barry and Judy - one does contract work for > > IBM with user manuals and 'Editpad'; the other > > uses 'Word'. They've been at this for decades. > > > > So, yes, it's text, but professionally formatted > > for easy reading. Everyone knows that plain text > > with line breaks is the preferred format for > > discussion groups. Go figure. > > Xenophaneros Anartaxius: > It really depends on the system that the text is being processed through, > whether you are responding through Yahoo's text editor or using the HTML > editor, whether you get the post via email etc. I don't bother with it. > Sometimes I will reformat something so it looks better after it has passed > through many iterations of replies. > > The greater than character (>) is not quite a right angle and it is generated > automatically when replying via Yahoo's text editor. What Judy and Barry do > is manually format the line breaks so the lines tend to remain unbroken > through several iterations of posts and replys, that is they make the lines > short enough so reformat by the forum software which makes the lines longer > by adding the '>' character and additional spaces does not result in a new > line break. Most do not fuss with this. I do not fuss with it. > > <snip> > Oops, you failed to format properly so I will not be able reply to many of your messages until you learn how to format properly - just don't have the time to do your work for, Xeno. I appreciate your comments, but I just don't have time anymore to insert the brackets so as to make a coherent reply.
Thanks for snipping - saves band-space. Formatting is the difference between a professional writer and a newbie - we always format for easy reading - it's part of our writing program. For others, it's just a pastime or a hobby, something people do for amusement, but not really interested in information sharing. Computer professionals always refer to the '>' as a 'left angle bracket', whatever; the point is lots of people just can't take the time to learn formatting. That's why I said that Barry and Judy are professional writers - they know how important formatting is. P.S. The Yahoo! text editor is rich text, not plain text, but the same formatting principle applies - BREAK THE LINES.
