MSGID: 1:153/716.0 19f16f01   
   REPLY: 2:221/6.0 613d0f52   
   CHRS: IBMPC 2   
   Hi, Anton!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:   
      
   AH>  I didn't see any line on my screen which ran over 72   
   AH>  characters here, although my software can handle up to 80.   
      
   AS>  Ironically, this very paragrph of yours is written as a    
   AS>  single line 472 characters wrong... er, long :-)    
      
           
               Omigosh!  That does seem rather excessive... [wry grin].   
      
               It wasn't initially.  Although I can go rambling off into the wild   
   blue yonder as I'm typing, my message editor saves lines according to whatever   
   limits I've set... on my screen.  I took your query to mean you were wondering   
   if your lines were too long.  Not being a techie, I wasn't sure how many you'd   
   be able to handle.  And some of my Russian correspondents who use news readers   
   have indicated they prefer lines twice the length generally used in Fidonet...   
   but Alexander & I agree that 60-80 is within most people's comfort range.  :-)   
      
      
      
   AS>  Now that I made this slip, it reminds of a Buddy Guy album    
   AS>  titled "74 years young," which I did not care for, but his    
   AS>  guitar work on Big Mama Thornton's "Hound dog" is top notch!    
      
      
               Ah.  I see/hear what you mean.   
      
      
      
   AS>  Yes, that was the original "Hound dog" that Elvis    
   AS>  Presley turned into a joke,    
      
      
               I was aware that not all of his work was original...   
      
      
      
   AS>  posing with a hound dog for the promotion poster.    
      
      
               ... but unlike some of my contemporaries, I didn't have a crush on   
   him & generally paid little attention to these things.  I do remember that one   
   of my classmates was called into the principal's office & told not to wear the   
   gigantic I LOVE ELVIS button her father had brought back from Hawaii while she   
   remained on school premises.  This gal seemed to enjoy pushing limits....  :-Q   
      
      
      
   AS>  Here's my friend's take on it:   
      
   AS>  https://soundcloud.com/anton-shepelev/hound-dog-blues-   
   AS>  version-cover    
      
      
               Interesting... thank you.   
      
               Bearing in mind the topic of the E_T echo, the contraction "ain't"   
   is an informal variation probably best avoided by those who are writing exams.   
   OTOH it is acceptable if you're singing the blues or replying to a question in   
   Fidonet with a jocular comment like "Ain't nobody here but us chickens".  :-))   
      
      
      
   AH>  I'm not at all concerned about lines which are shorter than   
   AH>  what you intended because I think that makes them easier for    
   AH>  less fluent speakers of English to interpret.    
      
          
               BTW... certain Fidonetters who are blind or visually impaired tend   
   to use software which limits them to 40 lines.  I can cope with that because I   
   read newspapers & magazines, and I do want to hear what they have to say.  :-)   
      
      
      
   AH>  If the lines are longer than what you intended, or if other    
   AH>  people's software omits words such as "not" when a line is    
   AH>  quoted & requoted, I consider that to be a more serious issue.   
      
   AS>  Indeed. Considerate treatment of message text is one of the key   
   AS>  requirements in GNKSA -- Good Netkeeping Seal of Approval.   
      
      
               Glad you feel that way.  Like various rules of etiquette, it has a   
   number of practical applications nowadays although times have changed....  :-)   
   --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+   
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