Hi, Alexander!  Recently you wrote in a message to All:   
      
   ak>  Some people cannot write good quoted messages.   
   ak>  Their messages sometimes look like this:   
      
   ak>  =========Beginning of the citation==============   
   ->   But even more exciting is this big asteriod heading our   
   -> way and they say it will orbit inside the area between us and all those   
   -> satelites in the sky.  Worst case is it hits us, and it's a big sucker.   
   ak> I   
   -> thought we had to December 22nd, but maybe the calendar was a bit off?   
   ->   
   ->  ->  ->  FS> Get even with them.  Don't pay any income tax.  There are   
   ->   
   ->  ->  FS> ARE THE MAN!!"   
   ->  ->   
   ->  -> And at my age, free medical, room and board, and even a funeral when   
   ak> I'm   
   ->  -> shanked.  Lookin good!   
   ak>  =========The end of the citation================   
      
      
             Yes, and by the time others have quoted the same material it may   
   look even more like a dog's breakfast [British/Canadian slang used in   
   reference to a mixture which evokes images of table scraps from someone else's   
   dinner].   
      
             I'm fortunate in that I know how to get timEd to tidy up messy   
   quotes & shorten the length of lines so as to avoid confusing truncations   
   and/or line- wrapping later.  I made no attempt to edit your citation because   
   you'd provided us with such a great example of how *not* to quote   
   effectively.  It seems to me that the purpose of language is to communicate.    
   Whatever we can do to make our own writing easier to understand increases the   
   likelihood that others will take the time to read, mark, and inwardly digest   
   what we are trying to explain.  ;-)   
      
      
      
   ak>  I've made a very useful utility "Quoter." It is a   
   ak>  freeware program and  designed for the people who   
   ak>  love participate in discussions in USENET, FIDONET   
   ak>  groups and also in web forums.   
      
      
             Good for you!  If you've found a way to help others whose software   
   is less amenable than mine to quoting neatly, I hope at least some will use   
   it.  I tend to have difficulty following the logic when I can't remember who   
   said what in a protracted discussion & other folks are unwilling to meet me   
   halfway.  :-)   
      
      
      
      
   --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/7715)