R. Lee Hawkins wrote:
>>For most this has nothing to do with copyright.
>
>Yes, but as I recall this practice started with Unix (Un*x), because
>some paranoid person was petrified that AT&T (who owned the Unix
>trademark at the time) would hunt them down and sue them for defaming
>unix. To me, it's pretty silly in either case.
Hmm, am I the only person on this list with enough internet seniority
to provide a historical perspective to the peculiar practice of
replacing vowels with asterisks? Oh well, with over 10 years of
hanging out on the net, I guess I am ;-)
I won't speculate as to who invented this practice. Initially, the
internet was limited to several major U.S. universities and a few
research institutions. The concept of newsgroups started as a forum
for discussions on computer science related subjects, and quickly
spread to other non-related topics.
In a primarily academic environment, there was expectation of minimal
decorum and clean language. And so, the first uses of non-letter
characters were to mask profanities, e.g. "He/she is a @#$%&* idiot",
or "I was scared sh*tless". In short, this was a clever way to
say and write the unspeakable.
Since internet communication (e-mail) is written and requires brevity,
there is no easy way to convey intent or emotions which are readily
understood in normal speech -- through vocal emphasis, intonation, etc.
Therefore, special sets of symbols were developed: smiley faces, sad
faces, and so on -- to express humor, sadness, physical attributes
(e.g. eyeglasses), etc. Numerous dictionnaries of this sh*t exist
in the various newsgroups and on web sites ;-) (See what I mean?)
In particular, the asterisk substitution mechanism has evolved to
express derision and/or contempt. For instance, in Apple/Mac related
newsgroups, one often encounters expressions like B*ll G*tes or W*nd*z.
Similarly, on the OLY list it often feels good and just to deride a
competing system or product, hence N*kon, C*non, etc. As a rule, the
more vowels erased, the higher the level of contempt. It has nothing
to do with trademarks, copyright, or petrified paranoia.
Now, all this is rather advanced netiquette material. At this point,
I'd be extatic if everyone on the OLY list had mastered the simple art
of properly editing the messages that get included in replies to any
particular thread. ;-) (But pls don't worry: there is nothing like a
few years of teaching to realize that there is no lower limit to one's
expectations, and I have certainly learned my lessons, I hope??? :-))
Cheers,
/Gary Schloss.
Studio City, CA
schloss@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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