X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: f996b,860d1c9e950ee487 X-Google-Attributes: gidf996b,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-08-13 02:11:12 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!newsfeed.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!news.tele.dk!small.news.tele.dk!195.54.122.107!newsfeed1.bredband.com!bredband!newsfeed.sovam.com!nf1.bellglobal.com!nf2.bellglobal.com!news20.bellglobal.com.POSTED!not-for-mail User-Agent: Microsoft-Outlook-Express-Macintosh-Edition/5.02.2022 Subject: Re: Just a perspective From: Pete Casso Newsgroups: alt.ascii-art Message-ID: References: <3b5f511e.12760042@news.concentric.net> <3B654703.198500B3@xs4all.nl> <4p8ent8jb761o1c7aeep4j5gk1g0utuhr0@4ax.com> Mime-version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Lines: 49 Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 05:11:08 -0400 NNTP-Posting-Host: 64.229.128.37 X-Complaints-To: abuse@sympatico.ca X-Trace: news20.bellglobal.com 997693869 64.229.128.37 (Mon, 13 Aug 2001 05:11:09 EDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 05:11:09 EDT Organization: Bell Sympatico Xref: archiver1.google.com alt.ascii-art:6935 >> My newsgroup server shows 158 postings since July 23, i.e. minus the spam >> that's a mere 8 postings a day on the average, compared to about 20 postings >> a day when the older versions of Outlook Express on a Windows computer was >> able to display fixed width font. > > True or not, it's still alt.ascii-art, not alt.virus-express-5.art. > Besides that, you would not be able to enforce it ;) My point is that if we do nothing, then the postings to this newsgroup will continue to decline. The newsreaders of many (most?) people on the net now come with non-fixed width font out of the box, and this situation will become worse as time goes on. > My guess the best approach would be, if someone has the time, to post > a bi-weekly 'how-to-view' faq, so newcomers fetching headers get some > help. The subject line of the 'How to View' FAQ could be a bit catchier, e.g. Can't see the pics on this newsgroup? Do this! And the content of the FAQ is: If your newsreader is Outlook Express 5, If your newsreader is Eudora, If your newsreader is , ... I think the 'How to View' FAQ ought to be posted on a weekly basis, since many news servers store only a week worth of postings. Nevertheless, the 'How to View' FAQ is a temporary fix at best and is eventually going to fail, since the transmission medium of ascii on the net (newsreader, email) has already changed to proportional font as a matter of fact, and the trend is going the wrong way, i.e. the trend is towards _more_ use of proportional font, and support for fixed width font will be waning. In contrast to that, a proven solution is ascii on the web (html) or even other display formats (e.g. gif) for ascii pics. I said these things (in even great more detail) a long time ago, and also predicted the timeline for the mainstream change to proportional font quite accurately ;-)) Let me make another prediction: in another two years, this newsgroup will either remain ascii with a small number of postings of perhaps 5 postings a day on the average or will change display format (to html or binary/gif). Pete Visit the 'steins at http://www3.sympatico.ca/petecasso