Text 21173, 60 rader
Skriven 2015-02-18 20:59:48 av Lee Lofaso (2:203/2)
  Kommentar till text 21157 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
Ärende: FidoNews 32:07 [02/07]: General Articles
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Hello Michiel,

 WD>> "8-bit" is a European thing which probably has no usage in an
 WD>> Anglophile environment.

 MvdV> I wouldn't be so sure.

There are a great many of Francophones in Louisiana.
And more outside of Louisiana.  And then there are
Hispanics, who identify themselves by language -
which is NOT English but Spanish.  Vietnamese are
non-Europeans who speak an Asiatic tongue, and
can shrimp and fish as good as any Cajun.

America is a land of immigrants.  And certainly
the original inhabitants - Native Americans - are
not Anglophones by any stretch of the imagination.

The idea that Fidonet should forever limit itself
to "7-bit" is both anti-democratic and just plain
silly.  Fidonet does not limit itself to one very
select group of people, and was never intended as
such.  Fidonet is in international community of
sysops, from every part of the world, welcoming
also to non-sysop participants regardless of
language, creed, gender, or origin.

 MvdV> There is at least one NA sysop who's name is officially
 MvdV> spelled with an  '‰'.

Many immigrants to America did not know how to read or write,
their names being entered by authorities phonetically - as told
to them rather than spelled out.  And there were others who
were simply given names that were convenient and easy to say
and pronounce rather than their given name - especially in
cases where people were considered property (slaves from
Africa come to mind).

 MvdV> There may be more.

You think?  You really think so?

 MvdV> One does not really know the potential demand until people are given the
 MvdV> choice.

Well, at least the authorities did not spell Hebert
as A Bear (probably because they had no idea as to how
to properly pronounce it).

 WD>> As for Z4, well ...

 MvdV> Indeed... ;-)

Why bother with (geographic) zones when Fidonet
is supposed to international?

--Lee

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