You don't seriously think people write fanfics with screen editors like
VI, do you? They use word processors, which can and do introduce odd
formatting problems when used to create e-mail messages.
I wholeheartedly disagree and see it exactly the
opposite. For writing fanfics, you should use a non-
formatting, 7-bit ASCII text editor. Be it Notepad,
VI, or edlin (I'm kidding), stick to a text only
program. The only time you need special characters
is for printing on paper, which I would hazard a
guess that most people don't do for fanfics. Even
if a reader did print it, plain text looks good on
paper. My writing is crap, but I always make sure
it is at least readable by using a vanilla editor.
This is an issue of common courtesy: people do not
have the exact same computer, software and setup as
you do. (If we did, it wouldn't matter.) It's best
to be considerate of others and make your fics
readable for *everyone*. If you're not thinking of
other people, why would they think of you and read
your story? (I'm speaking of all authors in general,
here.) Do unto others, etc.
Just my two yen,
Shunsuke
You've got to be joking.
Anyone with half a brain, or the willingness to ask others for help, can
learn how to convert from a Wordperfect or Word file to a text file,
complete with tight wordwrap, indents, and line spacing. Once you know how,
it takes less than a minute to accomplish. I can't possibly imagine trying
to write in something as primitive as Notepad or even worse, although I
often switch between Wordpad and Word, but Wordpad's not a primitive text
editor. But Word is where I do my spellchecking, of course, and I also save
from Word to a rich text format, which is easily converted to HTML for my
web page. Yes, I do print my stories out on paper. For one thing, it makes
it easier to catch some types of mistakes. ^_^
Your arguement is along the lines of "technology is too complex, you should
completely avoid it". Bleah!
Miko!
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather a scornful tone, "it
means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less."
"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many
different things."
"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master -- that's
all."
(Lewis Carroll, Through The Looking-Glass)
Nausicaa@sprynet.com Belldandy@angelic.com
Anime rpg at http://come.to/akane/
Fan Fiction at http://listen.to/bell/
-----Original Message-----
From: Shunsuke <shunsuke@mailcity.com>
To: ffml@fanfic.com <ffml@fanfic.com>
Date: Tuesday, August 25, 1998 2:45 AM
Subject: Re: [Now with SPAM] Re: Value of C&C (was Re: [FFML] Another
message...) (fwd)
On Mon, 24 Aug 1998 21:57:30 David Homerick wrote:
MegaZone wrote:
You don't seriously think people write fanfics with screen editors like
VI, do you? They use word processors, which can and do introduce odd
formatting problems when used to create e-mail messages.
I wholeheartedly disagree and see it exactly the
opposite. For writing fanfics, you should use a non-
formatting, 7-bit ASCII text editor. Be it Notepad,
VI, or edlin (I'm kidding), stick to a text only
program. The only time you need special characters
is for printing on paper, which I would hazard a
guess that most people don't do for fanfics. Even
if a reader did print it, plain text looks good on
paper. My writing is crap, but I always make sure
it is at least readable by using a vanilla editor.
This is an issue of common courtesy: people do not
have the exact same computer, software and setup as
you do. (If we did, it wouldn't matter.) It's best
to be considerate of others and make your fics
readable for *everyone*. If you're not thinking of
other people, why would they think of you and read
your story? (I'm speaking of all authors in general,
here.) Do unto others, etc.
Just my two yen,
Shunsuke
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