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  • Re: the solution would be to eliminate all humans.

    From Nick Boel@1:154/700 to Maurice Kinal on Sat Dec 7 06:57:50 2024
    Hello Maurice,

    On Fri, Dec 06 2024 20:36:29 -0600, you wrote ..

    It's more a question of what works than what is right or wrong.
    Setting the width so that a quote prefix can be added will assure us
    that older DOS-think abandonware doesn't run over it's 79 character
    limit for displayed line lengths makes this quoting method superior,
    with or without spaces an the end. Leaving them in will make this a lossless method of quoting.

    Definitely! However, after it leaves our systems who knows what the abandonware will do with it. By the time it's quoted for the third time it's already either wrapped or text is straight up cut off the ends of the lines if they go too long.

    What were they thinking?

    Was it ever a standard or even 'normal' to cut text off the ends of lines when quoted? Or was that just a terrible and/or lazy implementation of quoting in whatever software was doing it?

    It looks like the initial release of the "fold" command was some time in 1977, although I'm not sure when it became cross-platform.

    Regards,
    Nick

    ... He who laughs last, thinks slowest.
    --- SBBSecho 3.23-Linux
    * Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (1:154/700)
  • From Maurice Kinal@1:153/7001 to Nick Boel on Sat Dec 7 13:45:47 2024
    Hey Nick!

    who knows what the abandonware will do with it.

    That is why we're giving it at least 7 characters to play with. I have been known to wrap entire messages to 72 characters just to take care of their obvious handicap. Them were the good ol' days.

    What were they thinking?

    Strong like bull, smart like tractor?

    As far as I know, quoting has never been covered in ftn standards. The tradition has become to put the initials of the quotee in the quote prefix along with the '>' character. However I think just the '>' character is more universal and makes things easier, especially when using vim or nano as the MSG editor of choice.

    Life is good,
    Maurice

    -o -o o- -o
    (\ (\ /) (\
    ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
    ... Ich habe Eichhörnchen in meiner Hose!
    --- GNU bash, version 5.2.37(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
    * Origin: Little Mikey's Brain - Ladysmith BC, Canada (1:153/7001)
  • From Nick Boel@1:154/700 to Maurice Kinal on Sat Dec 7 08:32:06 2024
    Hello Maurice,

    On Sat, Dec 07 2024 07:45:47 -0600, you wrote ..

    That is why we're giving it at least 7 characters to play with. I
    have been known to wrap entire messages to 72 characters just to take
    care of their obvious handicap. Them were the good ol' days.

    "Good ol' days?" I don't think much has changed.

    Strong like bull, smart like tractor?

    Pretty much!

    As far as I know, quoting has never been covered in ftn standards.
    The tradition has become to put the initials of the quotee in the
    quote prefix along with the '>' character. However I think just the
    ' character is more universal and makes things easier, especially
    when using vim or nano as the MSG editor of choice.

    Yeah, but common sense would reveal that you probably shouldn't _eliminate_ random text within sentences from the original message that you are quoting. I can see entire sentences or paragraphs, but not whatever is dangling at the end of 80 columns. Darn tractors. :)

    The '> ' prefix is definitely more universal, not only for FTN, but newsgroups and email as well. However, initials don't bother me much if they're there or not, as I don't usually look at them, and normally don't quote past the first level anyways.

    Regards,
    Nick

    ... He who laughs last, thinks slowest.
    --- SBBSecho 3.23-Linux
    * Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (1:154/700)
  • From Wilfred van Velzen@2:280/464 to Maurice Kinal on Sat Dec 7 16:01:25 2024
    Hi Maurice,

    On 2024-12-07 13:45:47, you wrote to Nick Boel:

    As far as I know, quoting has never been covered in ftn standards.

    Not a standard, but there was a proposal: http://ftsc.org/docs/fsc-0032.001


    Bye, Wilfred.

    --- FMail-lnx64 2.3.2.4-B20240523
    * Origin: FMail development HQ (2:280/464)
  • From Maurice Kinal@1:153/7001 to Wilfred van Velzen on Sun Dec 8 00:23:07 2024
    Hey Wilfred!

    Not a standard, but there was a proposal: http://ftsc.org/docs/fsc-0032.001

    Excellent! Thanks for the heads up and I'll definetly check it out just to see if there is anything there worth the effort of coding it. At the least, proposals require some tweaking especially considering compatibility with abandonware/crippleware.

    Life is good,
    Maurice

    o- -o -o -o
    /) (\ (\ (\
    ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
    ... Hafa ðu geleafa to lifes frumon; gewuna þar ðu wunodest.
    Have faith in the creator of life; dwell where you have dwelt.
    --- GNU bash, version 5.2.37(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
    * Origin: Little Mikey's Brain - Ladysmith BC, Canada (1:153/7001)
  • From Maurice Kinal@1:153/7001 to Nick Boel on Sun Dec 8 00:31:52 2024
    Hey Nick!

    "Good ol' days?" I don't think much has changed.

    I never did care much for newsgroups, but that had little to nothing to do with compatibility. What passes for email these days really sucks, quotes or no quotes.

    The '> ' prefix is definitely more universal, not only for FTN,
    but newsgroups and email as well.

    Agreed. I think it would be the best way to handle this all things considered. I will definetly adjust accordingly from here on in. As for the trailing spaces I am inclined to keep them where they exist but getting rid of them is of no real concern. If I discover something that indicates differently I'll let you know.

    Life is good,
    Maurice

    o- -o o- -o
    /) (\ /) (\
    ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
    ... Widgongel wif word gespringeð, oft hy mon wommum bilihð.
    A far-wandering woman causes talk; often she is accused of sins.
    --- GNU bash, version 5.2.37(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
    * Origin: Little Mikey's Brain - Ladysmith BC, Canada (1:153/7001)