GUEST,Grr, Which platform and browser are you using? The strings “ and ” are the standard HTML code for the left and right double quote marks, respectively. Their use in typography enhances readability and looks much nicer than using the old typewriter symbol (") commonly used in preparing computer programs. A modern word processing program will optionally convert all typewriter double quote symbols to proper left and right double quotes as you type. You may not even notice. If you usually prepare documents using an ASCII text editor and a markup language such as LaTeX, you are already familiar with the concept of designating left and right quote marks with separate characters.

Along the same lines, the string — produces a proper typographic em dash character, much preferred over one or more hyphens to accomplish the same punctuation.

If your browser doesn't properly interpret these encoded characters, you may not have a very recent version of your browser. I generally preview a post prior to posting to be sure I haven't mistyped a special symbol or botched an active link. The post above that seems to give you trouble looks fine in my browser.

      - Mark