LINUX. Or, if you prefer, linux .
On Sat, Mar 16, 2013 at 10:56 PM, Nicholas Thompson < nickthomp...@earthlink.net> wrote: > I wonder if any of you had a less drastic solution. > > ** ** > > Nick **** > > ** ** > > *From:* Friam [mailto:friam-boun...@redfish.com] *On Behalf Of *Steve > Smith > *Sent:* Saturday, March 16, 2013 9:21 PM > *To:* The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group > *Subject:* [FRIAM] fASCIIsm and half-ASCII users.**** > > ** ** > > Arlo - > > **** > > What are the points awarded/detracted for using other people's arguments?* > *** > > ** ** > > fASCIIsm - Everything2.com <http://everything2.com/title/fASCIIsm>**** > > versus**** > > www.textfiles.com/100/whytext.oct**** > > ** ** > > -Arlo James Barnes**** > > How about points for stirring Doug *and* Glen up at the same time? Score! > > I recently noticed a fASCIIsm yet more extreme. It is not new, but in the > light of our whining about whether ASCII should be enough (not unlike > whining about the time/clock change?). > > I call it half-ASCII. When people find it too hard or unnecessary to use > Case... and sometimes even punctuation (or correct spelling or grammar!). > They only use (much less than) *half* of the ASCII character set. Most > recently, it was a woman correspondent who is not merely a regular (and > articulate) blogger but is also a published book author. > > She began her ALL CAPS-SOUNDS-LIKE-SHOUTING message by cautioning me that > she was NOT SHOUTING, she just preferred ALL CAPS because it was easier for > her to SEE (apparently). None of her books nor blog posts were written in > ALL CAPS, so I have to assume that she has "people for that"... copy > editors, etc. who can add all the appropriate clues to make it easy to > gather. > > I tried, I swear I did, to not hear her message as shouting... but finally > gave over to shoving it all into *lower case* wherein I found her to no > longer seem to be belligerent but now rather semi-literate and timid... > hmmm.... same *content*, different *form* and it was rather difficult > (impossible) to read her message as she must have conceived it... the > BELLIGERENT and the _timid_ version just didn't sound like her writing. I > finally settled for some mangled average between the two. I was SHOCKED > that someone as (otherwise) sophisticated didn't realize the effect of > writing in ALL CAPS ALL THE TIME! I even suspected it was a test. > > In the early days of developing WSIWYG text/graphics tools, I remember the > shock I felt that letting people write *rough drafts* with full formatting > yielded all kinds of unintended consequences. This was before we fired > all our copyeditors and even typesetters... so there were still > professionals helping make sure the *final product* was of high quality. > Suddenly I found myself reading (for content, not format) my peers' work > *formatted* as if it were a finished product (with plenty of formatting > errors along with spelling, grammar, punctuation, emphasis, nuance, etc.). > It was really eerie! Cognitive Dissonance. I *longed* for a tool that > had just enough smarts in it to not allow the rough draft to have any more > formatting than straight ASCII, and then gradually introduce more > sophisticated formatting as the status of the revisions evolved. I still > do... but it ain't happening. I've worked with teams writing together who > by convention eschew formatting until after the content is 90% hammered > out. I *much* prefer to work with formatted text myself, but don't like > the confusion I feel when someone throws me text that is still > "stream-of-consciousness" with "stream-of-consciousness" formatting as well > as content. > > Unsurprisingly, I prefer CamelCode style in my code as well. I'll cope > with those who like to live in FLAT^H^H^HASCII-Land... and even those in > Half-ASCII-Land... it's really only a minor inconvenience. And while I'm > quite capable of clicking through a weakly identified link/URL, I also > appreciate it when the author/submitter offers a hint of why I would want > to, where I might go, etc... > > - Steve > > > > > > **** > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com > -- *Doug Roberts d...@parrot-farm.net* *http://parrot-farm.net/Second-Cousins*<http://parrot-farm.net/Second-Cousins> * <http://parrot-farm.net/Second-Cousins> 505-455-7333 - Office 505-672-8213 - Mobile*
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