Re: Column width

[P3D John Bercovitz <bercov@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

>> I see a lot of people aren't keeping their column widths down.
>> It would be helpful for many, if not most, of us if you could
>> hold it down to around 75 columns so we can quote you easily
>> and so your posts don't look like a big mess when they get 
>> here.

> I am uncertain if my column width is too large...how does one find out? 
> I know someone previously listed me as a culprit in this matter, but I 
> don't see the problem when my own material appears as a post.  

Well first you have to have a non-justifying (fixed-width) font 
such as Courier.  A font such as this doesn't have variable spacing - 
every character takes up the same amount of space.  If you are 
using a non-justifying font, the following string of numbers will have 
decade numbers directly over the nines & zeroes:

        10        20        30        40        50        60        70
123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345

This applies if you are writing your posts off line in a word processor.
A text editor will also have equal character spacing generally.  Your
mailer may vary (YMMV?) but there should be a fixed-width font in there 
someplace.  I'm not a PC kinda guy so if I've mistated the PC case, 
I'd appreciate someone stepping in and helping - there are a ton of
people on this list who could use a little of that help.  Regardless,
the number lines I've posted above will look right if you have a 
fixed-width font.

> I understand your point about people possibly not knowing how to adjust 
> their column widths, but how do they know it is a problem if *their* 
> system handles it just fine?  

That's the problem - you've hit the nail on the head.  It's only a
problem for the rest of us; not for the sender or anyone who has a
setup like the sender.

John B

PS: There is also some argument        Also, it scans more easily.
that it is easier to read shorter      We could try that here but I'm
lines than longer ones.  That's        not so sure it would go over
why columns are used in newspapers.    very well.  If you're using a
It's easier to find the start of       non-justifying font, this will
the next line, for one thing.          look like columns  888-)


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