Re: A silly question (Re: Vijf: Two Weeks to MESSENGER)

In article <flmvml$utu$1@xxxxxxxx>, <tkmailers@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Mike Stone wrote:
Bob Silverberg also did a little short _Sunrise on Mercury_

Several persons here seem to prefer bracketing a story title between
underscores rather than double quotes, as you do above. What's the reason?

Is it just an old habit from days when usenet gateways didn't always
handle double-quote character (if there were such days). Or is it
because some news clients seem to underline text quoted with
underscores? Or something else?

Well, I was taught to put a story or article or other short piece
that didn't fill a volume by itself between quotes, and a novel
or magazine title underlined or italicized (depending on whether
it's typing, or print). You can't underline or italicize anything
in ASCII, which many newsreaders still use (mine included) and
which is almost impossible for most newsreaders to misinterpret.
Therefore I use _underscores_ for book or journal titles and
*asterisks* for emphasis.


Dorothy J. Heydt
Albany, California
djheydt@xxxxxxxxxxx
.

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