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BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break!
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Subject: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 03 Aug 00 - 01:14 PM My eyes are spinning with trying to read some of the long long long unbroken posts on various threads.
And the word that matters there is unbroken - there's nothing wrong with writing at length, if you've got something to say. But the way this medium works, you have to break it up into short paragraphs if you want to be legible.
I know at school they tell you that a new paragraph only comes when you have a new point. Since there are some points that take quite a long time, that implies some pretty long paragraphs.
But if you do that here, it just turns into a mighty blur, and you get skipped past and ignored. Or people read you and start feeling vengeful towards you without maybe realizing why.
And all it needs to make a paragraph break is to stick in a {P} or a {BR}{BR} (except that you put a < instead of a { and a > instead of a >) And I put that in, just in case sometimes it's people who didn't know that... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: Ebbie Date: 03 Aug 00 - 01:25 PM McGrath, I will try to remember to do that. Ebbie |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: GUEST, Banjo Johnny Date: 03 Aug 00 - 01:41 PM Mr McGrath, (meaning no offense) I do agree with you about the paragraphs, but I must say it's also hard to read lines that are all in italics. (Same goes for all caps.) == Johnny |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: bbelle Date: 03 Aug 00 - 01:54 PM Ok ... McGrath ... you asked for it! Here's my practice post ...
I Is there a difference to using or moonchild |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: bbelle Date: 03 Aug 00 - 01:56 PM I'm not quite sure what happened above, but I was asking if there was a difference to using the P or the BR. I put it in <>'s, so that may have screwed up the paragraph. moonchild |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: Joe Offer Date: 03 Aug 00 - 01:56 PM Well, he just missed on </i>, and that made his whole message italics. If you learn how to use HTML line breaks at the end of paragraphs, your messages will be a lot easier to read. Try to get in the habit of using two line breaks at the end of paragraphs, instead of the <p> paragraph mark. If doesn't make a difference in normal text, but if you use paragraph marks when posting lyrics, the breaks between stanzas get lost when we harvest songs. OK, class, so remember that the HTML line break looks like this: <br>-Joe Offer- |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: bbelle Date: 03 Aug 00 - 02:00 PM So when do you use the P for paragraph break. And do I understand that is used when one wants to italicize a phase or word? moonchild |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: Mbo Date: 03 Aug 00 - 02:04 PM Um, isn't it easier to just hit ENTER twice? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: Pene Azul Date: 03 Aug 00 - 02:04 PM moonchild, to italicize you just need <i> before and </i> after. There's no need to use <p> at all. PA |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: kendall Date: 03 Aug 00 - 02:40 PM I seldom finish a post that is more than one paragraph long. Remember, brevity is the soul of wit. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: Bernard Date: 03 Aug 00 - 02:41 PM Gerralife! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: Wincing Devil Date: 03 Aug 00 - 02:49 PM Is this any easier to read? Quick wafting zephyrs vex bold Jim. Jackdaws love my big sphynx of quartz. Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs. Five big quacking zephyrs jolt my wax bed. Jail zesty vixen who grabbed pay from quack. Puzzled women bequeath jerks very exotic gifts. Turgid saxophones blew over Mick's jazzy quiff. Many big jackdaws quickly zipped over the fox pen. A large fawn jumped quickly over white zinc boxes. Zany Jacques French's pub mixed watery vodka gimlets. The vixen jumped quickly on her foe barking with zeal. We have just quoted on nine dozen boxes of gray lamp wicks. Grumpy wizards make toxic brew for the evil Queen and Jack. Jelly-like above the high wire, six quaking pachyderms kept the climax of the extravaganza in a dazzling state of flux. This ought to be hell! Quick wafting zephyrs vex bold Jim. Jackdaws love my big sphynx of quartz. Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs. Five big quacking zephyrs jolt my wax bed. Jail zesty vixen who grabbed pay from quack. Puzzled women bequeath jerks very exotic gifts. Turgid saxophones blew over Mick's jazzy quiff. Many big jackdaws quickly zipped over the fox pen. A large fawn jumped quickly over white zinc boxes. Zany Jacques French's pub mixed watery vodka gimlets. The vixen jumped quickly on her foe barking with zeal. We have just quoted on nine dozen boxes of gray lamp wicks. Grumpy wizards make toxic brew for the evil Queen and Jack. Jelly-like above the high wire, six quaking pachyderms kept the climax of the extravaganza in a dazzling state of flux.
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: bbelle Date: 03 Aug 00 - 03:06 PM Ok ... I just figured out that when you put the break and italic thingies in the body of a text, like I did above, the thingie disappears, resulting in making the poster look like a dimwit. Duh! So, this is what I do when I want something to appear in italics. moonchild |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: bbelle Date: 03 Aug 00 - 03:08 PM Hey, it worked!! Tres cool! Thanks for the clarification, Pene. moonchild |
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Subject: How to post lyrics From: Joe Offer Date: 03 Aug 00 - 03:10 PM Mbo, Using <enter> twice works find between paragraphs when you're posting normal text, but PLEASE don't use it when posting lyrics. When posting lyrics, use one <br> line break in every single line, even in the blank lines between stanzas. If you do it any other way, it's very difficult to find the breaks between stanzas when we're harvesting lyrics. Also when you're posting lyrics, please try to put ADD and the song title in the "Subject" box of your message (no need to start a new thread, if the thread title is at all relevant and is not a "BS" thread). The song title should be in all caps above the lyrics, followed by a line with the songwriter's name in parentheses. It also helps if you put your initials AFTER the lyrics, and include any background information you have. Hitting "enter" twice or the <p> paragraph mark will make a double space show up in most browsers. However, that double space usually disappears when you copy-and-paste lyrics into a word processor. That's why I'd like everybody to use <br> line breaks all the time. Thanks. -Joe Offer- |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: Mbo Date: 03 Aug 00 - 03:16 PM Yes, I knew that, Joe. I was just wondering why any bothered with putting the paragraph break HTML tag or the double line breaks instead of just hitting enter. Of course I always use the double line breaks when posting song lyrics. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: catspaw49 Date: 03 Aug 00 - 03:25 PM Yeah Meebo me lad.....On this one, I'm with you since I never cut and paste doodly squat. And Kendall.....I think Dorothy Parker had it better...... Brevity is the soul of lingerie.
Your choice |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: kendall Date: 03 Aug 00 - 03:28 PM thats a hell of a choice in my business! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: bbelle Date: 03 Aug 00 - 03:34 PM Geez, guys ... not you're gonna be telling me I should toss my longsleeve, up-to-my-chin, down-to-the-floor, flannel nighties. moon |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: Escamillo Date: 03 Aug 00 - 03:39 PM My "columnization" method may help. Newspapers organize texts in narrow columns just for ease of reading. We can't make multiple columns here, but if you open the "favorites" frame in the left side, you can split the screen in two halves, thus the texts in the right frame appear as much narrower columns. Of course it would be much better if everybody separated paragraphs more frequently ! Un abrazo - Andrés |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: reggie miles Date: 03 Aug 00 - 04:59 PM Guilty as charged here McGrath, but what's a poor ignorant slob who can hardly organize his own thoughts, much less his written ramblings, to do? I mean, I kin hardly screek engrish an now you want me to write good too.;~) This medium of communication, free as it is of the constraints censorship can certainly use some rules to make it more readable at times. Thanks for pointing this out. Proof once again that you can teach old dogs new tricks.;.) While we're on the subject of too many thoughts in a single paragraph, how about those whose posts are so brief that they seem meaningless in their brevity. I know this debate has been posted before. Perhaps we're just begining to see the limited boundaries of this form of communication. For all it's endless possibilities, maybe we have to learn to accept and embrace it's frailties as well. Submitted for your approval. Hey how 'bout them line breaks? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: Lox Date: 03 Aug 00 - 05:31 PM Unfortunately for me I'm into jazz andtherefore. I prefer tooooo-be-de-doooo... Things! slightly diff- |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: kendall Date: 03 Aug 00 - 05:33 PM Moonchild, I hate to tell you, but, flannel nightgowns are the number 2 cause of divorce in this country |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: Joe Offer Date: 03 Aug 00 - 06:40 PM
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: CarolC Date: 04 Aug 00 - 02:21 AM McGrath Thanks for the tip. (I hope this works the way everybody says it's supposed to.) I think I'm probably more guilty of McGrath's complaint than most. It's just that essentially, I'm an internet virgin, and I don't know s**t. Carol |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: CarolC Date: 04 Aug 00 - 02:23 AM Hey, it worked! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 04 Aug 00 - 12:17 PM Hey, about jazz players "doing things differently", how come they have to do it differently the same way all the time? For example, I was dining in an expensive restaurant where they were playing a tape of jazz saxophone. And of course, about 3/4 of the way through the piece, the guy had to overblow his sax really hard so it made an ugly shriek. (Sort of like blowing your engine with a car.) Well, I happen to have quite keen hearing, and egoistic stunt really hurt me. I was also irritated because I knew he was going to do it. They do it in every piece; it seems to be required. Needless to say, I have not gone back to the place. Some of my friends think I'm square because I prefer trad music, but actually, I am rebelling against the tyranny of contemporary culture. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: Homeless Date: 04 Aug 00 - 01:37 PM Yeah Joe, but remember that not everyone here is as HTMLly gifted as you are. There are still some of us who have problems with bold and italics. Let alone blue clickys (and spelling). While it might be nice to put the column code (and list item tag?) in the FAQ, we need to keep in mind that people use different resolutions and too narrow of a column can possibly make only a couple words appear in each line if for those with smaller resolutions. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: Escamillo Date: 04 Aug 00 - 01:47 PM Hi, Joe, on top of THINKING, you pretend us to STUDY too ? We may end up at the NYCFTS :)) (*) Neil Young Centre for The Terminally Screwed, Copyright 1999 Catspaw |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: Joe Offer Date: 05 Aug 00 - 03:47 AM Actually, I can never remember how to do columns, either. I go to a site that has columns, right-click and "view source," and steal 'em. -Joe Offer- |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: Little Hawk Date: 05 Aug 00 - 05:10 PM My God, what a crazy thread! So, what's the 1st cause of divorce in the USA? HTML...who's got time to learn that? Does hitting Enter twice work? I intend to look at my own message here in just a minute and see if it does. If not I may have to study HTML. Oy vay! How's that? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Spare me eyes - give us a break! From: Little Neophyte Date: 05 Aug 00 - 05:16 PM Oy vaysmere, Little Hawk, I have a kindred spirit who talks just like me. Well I don't have to feel guilty cause I use tons of sentence breaks don't I McGrath and I don't use too many words that often because then I'd have to figure out how to spell them. BB |