# Fryke_and_his_underscores



## Rhisiart (Dec 17, 2005)

Now call me biased, and I am not dissing other Mac help sites/forums etc., but I think MacOSX is by and above far the best of the lot. 

The success clearly falls down to Fryke, BobW and all the other skilled moderators, who seem to get the balance just right between moderating content, providing advice to users, whilst at the same time allowing contributors a free reign to offer advice and suggestions (moderators from other sites could do well to learn from them).

However, I just have to ask this question! What's_with_the_underscores_Fryke? It's not a complaint, I am just curious.


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## mdnky (Dec 17, 2005)

It's another way of emphasizing the text.  Some older programs used it to delineate underlined text, others considered it italicized text.


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## nixgeek (Dec 17, 2005)

It's a holdover from the days of BBSes and IRC, where you didn't have font styling capabilities.  For this reason, people would use asterisks or underscores to place emphasis on certain words.

Even though we now have the styling abilities, sometimes it's much easier to just use the old way since it doesn't break the flow of the typing.


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## Rhisiart (Dec 17, 2005)

Right.

List of queries that have bothered me for some time:

1. Do UFO's exist?
2. Is there a Loch Ness monster?
3. Can one travel faster than the speed of light?
4. Why does Fryke us so many underscores?

Well that's one mystery solved.


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## ora (Dec 17, 2005)

Hehe, i like the list.

I sometimes use underscores, as it seems a fairly strong but inoffensive way of emphasising text. Less heavy than SHOUTING but more visible that _italicising_. Then again that might just be me...

ora


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## Giaguara (Dec 17, 2005)

It is either the retro feel of the BBS days or the laziness of manually / with a click use the vB code such as *  or  ...*


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## chevy (Dec 18, 2005)

It like using <french accent> la langue de Molière </french accent> to emphasis some sentences in love songs.


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## Lt Major Burns (Dec 18, 2005)

i use asterisks to *emphasise* my text.


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## ElDiabloConCaca (Dec 18, 2005)

rhisiart said:
			
		

> 1. Do UFO's exist?


No, but *UFOs* exist.  I am not aware of any UFO actually possessing "exist," nor am I familiar with what they actually do with their exists.  
Just nitpicking on yer grammar, that's all!


> 2. Is there a Loch Ness monster?


Considering infinite dimensions, yes.  There is a Loch Ness monster _somewhere_.  But, due to the infinite dimensions, somewhere, in some dimension, there is a world exactly like our own with the only exception being that my cat is President.


> 3. Can one travel faster than the speed of light?


No, but two can, if the one behind gives the one in front a little push...


> 4. Why does Fryke us so many underscores?


I personally think it's exposure to gamma radiation like Bruce Banner, but your guess is as good as mine.

I hope that helps!


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## Lt Major Burns (Dec 18, 2005)

where is frykes comment on all this?


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## Giaguara (Dec 18, 2005)

"_khm_"?


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## Rhisiart (Dec 18, 2005)

ElDiabloConCaca said:
			
		

> No, but *UFOs* exist.  I am not aware of any UFO actually possessing "exist," nor am I familiar with what they actually do with their exists.



You got me their dude! 

P.S. Is your cat a Democrat?


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## Rhisiart (Dec 18, 2005)

Yikes, I can't even spell_there_correctly. What is happening to me....?


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## symphonix (Dec 19, 2005)

> 1. Do UFO's exist?



Yes. UFO = Unidentified Flying Object. There are lots of flying objects in the world, and lots of poeple who really aren't good at identifying them. 



> 2. Is there a Loch Ness monster?



Aye, but she isn' a holdover from prehistoric times, as many a traveller would have you believe. She is in fact a mutation of a fine scottish terrier that escaped from a post-WW2 nuclear research lab. This explains why there are no records of the monster prior to 1952. 



> 3. Can one travel faster than the speed of light?



Yes, provided one doesn't mind the slight inconvenience of using an infinite amount of energy, having infinite weight, and keeping an infinite supply of travel-sickness pills.



> 4. Why does Fryke us so many underscores?



This saves wear and tear on the spacebar. Underscores can be used in place of spaces. By using_Underscores for_every second_space you_can cut_space bar_wear and_tear by_half!


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## fryke (Dec 19, 2005)

Hm. 

symphonix: I'm _doing_ spacebars as well. As has been assumed, it's something old. BBS style styling and all that. And: It's just much faster than _-tags... If you have Microsoft Word installed, just type the following sentence and see, how magically, the word between _s is changed to italics: "I really _do_ want to have italics."

Giaguara: You nailed it. But it's actually both things together.

And rhisiart: Thanks for this thread.  ... Maybe I should include it in my signature... Doing that just now. _


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## ora (Dec 19, 2005)

fryke said:
			
		

> If you have Microsoft Word installed, just type the following sentence and see, how magically, the word between _s is changed to italics: "I really _do_ want to have italics.



Oddly that works on Mac Word but not PC Word on my work machine. Nice tip though!


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## kainjow (Dec 19, 2005)

They _also_ work if you use Basecamp for project management


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## lurk (Dec 19, 2005)

Just FYI if you you GNUS to read your mail and newsgroups (shudder) then emacs will also _nicely_ reformat /all/ your *ascii-font-things*. 

/Just needed to introduce the emacs vs. vi thing into this thread.


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## kainjow (Dec 19, 2005)

Oh I _just_ remembered that they also work in Google Talk too


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## g/re/p (Dec 19, 2005)

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  !   :d


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## Rhisiart (Dec 19, 2005)

symphonix said:
			
		

> Yes. UFO = Unidentified Flying Object. There are lots of flying objects in the world, and lots of poeple who really aren't good at identifying them.


I am on a roll here. That's another mystery cleared up.



			
				symphonix said:
			
		

> Aye, but she isn' a holdover from prehistoric times, as many a traveller would have you believe. She is in fact a mutation of a fine scottish terrier that escaped from a post-WW2 nuclear research lab. This explains why there are no records of the monster prior to 1952.


Och, are you sure you are not referring to that presidential cat of ElDiabloConCac, who for all we know may indeed resemble a terrier (that's the cat of course, not ElDiabloConCac).



			
				symphonix said:
			
		

> Yes, provided one doesn't mind the slight inconvenience of using an infinite amount of energy, having infinite weight, and keeping an infinite supply of travel-sickness pills.


I have many of the latter so nobody can accuse me of not being prepared. It's the VW that might let me down.



			
				fryke said:
			
		

> And rhisiart: Thanks for this thread.


You_are_welcome.


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## fryke (Dec 19, 2005)

Hm. Why do you keep replacing spaces with underscores? That's _so_ unfrykey...


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## Rhisiart (Dec 19, 2005)

fryke said:
			
		

> Hm. Why do you keep replacing spaces with underscores? That's _so_ unfrykey...



Yes, I shall resort to my usual way of typing. I have to say underscores are a lot more sightly than BOLD letters in order to make a POINT.

(It's jsut all theese typos i keep maikng that fustrates em).


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## kainjow (Dec 20, 2005)

Hehe Linus Torvalds uses underscores too  see this email he wrote: http://mail.gnome.org/archives/usability/2005-December/msg00022.html


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