X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: f996b,2dce014f85f819e9 X-Google-Attributes: gidf996b,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-12-25 11:10:02 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!news-spur1.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!newsfeed00.sul.t-online.de!t-online.de!news-lei1.dfn.de!news-nue1.dfn.de!news-han1.dfn.de!newsserver.rrzn.uni-hannover.de!localhost!adf From: Andreas Freise Newsgroups: alt.ascii-art Subject: Re: Ascii-Art Secrets #4 Date: Tue, 25 Dec 2001 19:07:42 +0100 Organization: Universitaet Hannover Lines: 151 Message-ID: References: NNTP-Posting-Host: 130.75.235.113 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII X-Trace: newsserver.rrzn.uni-hannover.de 1009307401 11815 130.75.235.113 (25 Dec 2001 19:10:01 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse@newsserver.rrzn.uni-hannover.de NNTP-Posting-Date: 25 Dec 2001 19:10:01 GMT In-Reply-To: Xref: archiver1.google.com alt.ascii-art:12779 Hi Colin, nice to see someone taking up that project. Some comments: On Sat, 22 Dec 2001, CJRandall wrote: [...] > This FAQ is regularly posted to news:alt.ascii-art and > news:alt.ascii-art.animation. On the Web, the FAQ and other useful > documents can be found in the ASCII art Documentation Archive (ADA), at > the following locations: > * http://voices.vossnet.co.uk/a/atkins/ada/ (UK) > * http://website.lineone.net/~martin.atkins/ada/ (UK) > * http://martweb.hypermart.net/ada/ (Seattle, USA) > [??? any more locations? I think I've missed a couple] I'd leave out the last one (pop-ups galore, NS 4 goes down too). Instead we could do with another US mirror. Anyone? Add the main one: http://www.sci.fi/~iltzu/ascii/ada/ and VK's http://www.ludd.luth.se/~vk/q/ada/ 4. [...] > * ASCII art animated using JavaScript. This relies not only on the > newsreader being able to display HTML, but also being able to > run JavaScript. Put it on a Web page instead, and post the > address to news:alt.ascii-art.animation. We should add Java here since JavE will probably be used much more than the `old' Javascript player. [...] > 6. How do I draw my own ASCII art? > ----------------------------------- > The most common question asked on this subject is `do you use a > special program to make your pictures?'. The answer is usually no. > You can create ASCII art in any text editor, such as SimpleText or > BBEdit in MacOS, Notepad in Windows, nedit, vi, vim, or pico in > Unix, BEd or AZ in AmigaOS, edit in DOS, or any of the various Emacs > editors. Here should be one sentence about JavE (e.g. written in Java, many extra ASCII features included,...) [...] > Even so, there are a few characters to watch out for: > # hash/pound -- a hash symbol on most computers, a pound > (currency) symbol on some British ones Is that correct? I mean the `some British ones'? Because if that is so then this should not be on top of this list because it refers to only a minor `British' problem :) whereas the ~ for example will be `misplaced' more often. [...] > Finally, do not use any control codes, non-ASCII characters, or > word-processor-type formatting in your pictures. Not only are these Maybe TABs should be mentioned here (explicitely, again?). [...] > 8. I like that ASCII picture -- can I copy it for myself? > ---------------------------------------------------------- > Don't assume that if somebody posts something to a Usenet group, > that gives you the right to use it however you like; copyright > laws still apply. For more information, see the article `Copyright > Myths FAQ: 10 big myths about copyright explained' in > news:news.announce.newusers. (It is also available at > http://www.clari.net/brad/copymyths.html.) > > ASCII art is often an exception to this rule, though: generally, [...] Exception to what `rule'? I'd like to have a clearer statement here, like `Often you may copy and use ASCII art, though' or something like that (but nicer/better). > 11. How do I convert a picture to ASCII art? > -------------------------------------------- > There are computer programs available which convert graphics files > of a particular format (usually GIF) to ASCII art. They go by names > such as ascgif, gifa, gifscii, and gif2ascii. Do a Web search for > any of these programs to find places where you can download them. > Try: > > gopher://twinbrook.cis.uab.edu/1A/atools.70 > ftp://ftp.wwa.com/pub/Scarecrow/Gifscii/. Is someone willing to check the links in this document. I guess many of them will be dead, like the above. :( And again: JavE should be mentioned here (maybe in the Figlet section too). There have been also some other conversion codes mentioned recently. Anyone remembers where those are available? [...] > 12. Where do I find more ASCII art pictures and information? > ------------------------------------------------------------ [...] > > Lots of ASCII artists put up libraries of their own and others' > ASCII art on their Web sites, as well as tutorials on how to draw > ASCII art. Allen Mullen has links to many of these sites at > http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/2695/links.htm. That one's not dead but hasn't seen an update for more than a year - it hosts many dead links now. :( Personally I'd recommend the following first: > > The DMOZ Open Directory Project also has an extensive catalogue of > ASCII art sites -- http://dmoz.org/Arts/ASCII/. [...] > Text-mode Quake -- http://webpages.mr.net/bobz/ttyquake/ > `The ASCII artists' in Wired magazine -- > http://www.wired.com/news/news/wiredview/story/6346.html. > > analia and other animation software -- [???] If there is no real maintainer for the FAQ then there shouldn't be too many links in it. Only the very important ones. Dead links are worse then no links in a FAQ. [...] > ======================================================================= > [Subject:] ObAscii ? [...] The ObAscii part looks nice. Maybe put the explanation before the `first ever' to minimise confusion. Hopefully more people will comment or correct this text because that's how a FAQ should be created and kept up to date. Anyway, thank you Colin, for starting this! :) Andreas ________________________________________________ http://www.ascii-art.de