8-bit characters

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Ross Smith (alien@acheron.amigans.gen.nz)
Sat, 5 Mar 94 22:39:23 GMT+12

I recently posted the first version of my FAQ for rec.aviation.military.
A FAQ on this subject naturally involves frequent use of foreign names
from various languages, notably German, which require characters not
found in the 7-bit ASCII character set. The standard 8-bit character
set is ISO 8859/1 (Latin Alphabet 1); for me this presents no problems
(it's the standard character set on the Amiga).

I've received one complaint about this -- only one, and even that one
was from someone who could read the characters on his screen but had
trouble printing them out. He suggested using common phonetic
equivalents, e.g. oe for v.

Obviously most people on the Net, but not all, have "8-bit-clean" news
software, so it isn't a *serious* problem. What do other FAQ maintainers
think? I'm not keen on the idea of forcing foreign words into an English
straitjacket when it isn't absolutely necessary -- especially in a FAQ,
where accuracy is important. Should I do it anyway to allow for the
minority still using 7-bit software, or should I stick to the correct
usage and tell anyone who complains, "Sorry, but if you use obsolete
software or hardware, that's your tough luck"?

Ross Smith (Wanganui, New Zealand) ... alien@acheron.amigans.gen.nz
GCS/S d? p c++++ !l u-- e- m---(*) s+/++ n--- h+ f g+ w+ t-/+ r+ y?
Keeper of the FAQ for rec.aviation.military
"Do not adjust your brain. There is a fault in reality."

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