MudGuard:
I certainly wasn't intending to question the accuracy of your information. My only question was whether I understood it, in relation to the information I was looking for.
From what I see in the HTML Standard (4.01) the characters you listed are the ones that a new document is "guaranteed" will be read correctly if encoded as shown.
I may be trying to read more into the Std than is there, but it appears that an HTML server (via a charset= statement in it's header file) is permitted define a "charset" that, once defined, allows you to just type any character on your keyboard - if it's in the character set, and of course if it's on your keyboard.
A "proper" HTML file being sent to a receiving interpreter may define the charset it wants to use, which may or may not be implemented, depending on whether the receiving device has the files and fonts to implement it.
The Std notes that many older servers do not have the ability to recognize and implement a charset declaration.
Since a "submit" to Mudcat is actually an insertion into an existing "document" it would be unwise for anyone to try to mess with the charset definition. The Std appears to allow declaration of a special set for an insertion, but if it is not known that the definition and fonts are "known" by the "document" that is going to do the display, at best, it's not going to do anything useful, and it could trash the document.
As to using Word with HTML:
The first thing to admit is that I was using it incorrectly. When you "save as html," Word assumes that there is no coding already in the document. It pastes a "canned" header on, and replaces that pesky ¶ metacharacter with an ASCI 11. It does not seem to recognize any code that is already there, but that's still an open question for me.
If a document has code already included, even just for single characters, the proper procedure is to save it as plain text (ASCII Text) and then change the file extension to "htm." This lets you open it in a "real" html viewer like IE.
Our (US) Cival Servants have an expression - "Fighting Feathers" - that describes an excessive concern and expenditure of effort on things that don't really matter.
Should I say "Phft Phft" to get them out of my mouth?
Thanks for your help. It is appreciated.

John