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From: boba@gagme.wwa.com (Bob Allison)
Newsgroups: alt.ascii-art,alt.binaries.pictures.ascii
Subject: FAQ - ASCII Art Questions & Answers (2.1 - 36 K)
Date: 16 May 1994 14:01:58 -0500
Organization: WorldWide Access - Chicago Area Internet Services 312-282-8605
Lines: 820
Message-ID: <2r8fv6$1qh@gagme.wwa.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: gagme.wwa.com
Summary: Everything you wanted to know about ASCII art, would you believe ...
____ ______ ______ ______ ______ ____ _____ _______
/ _ | / _____/ / _____/ /_ _/ /_ _/ / _ | / __ | /__ __/
/ /_/ / / (__ / / / / / / / /_/ / / /__) / / /
/ __ / \___ \ / / / / / / / __ / / . __/ / /
/ / / / _____) / / /____ _/ /_ _/ /_ / / / / / / \ \ / /
/_/ /_/ /______/ |_____/ /_____/ /_____/ /_/ /_/ /_/ \_\ /_/
.......... ___________ _____ ___________
.......::::::....... | | / \ / \
.......:::======:::....... | _______! / _ \ / _____ \
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.....::===#####@@#####===::..... | ____! | _____ | | | , | |
.....::====########====::..... | | | | | | | | \O| |
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....::============::.... O_/| | | | \O/ | | | | ,_|| |
...::==========::\.. |\/| | | | | | | | |_/|/\| |
//::========::\.\ | | |O | | | | | | \__/ ' |
O/ \__________/ \O |\ | ||\_ | | / \ | | \ /
| <__________> | /_/_!___!|/\_ !___!/ \!___! \________ /
| <__________> | \ /
/ \ <__________> / \ boba@gagme.wwa.com \/
/_ |_ boba _| _\ Version 2.1 - May 16, 1994
______________________________________________________________________________
___ _ _ ___ ___ _____ ___ ___ _ _ ___
/ _ \| | | | __/ __!_ _!_ _/ _ \| \| / __!
| (_) | |_| | _|\__ \ | | | | (_) | .` \__ \
\__\_\\___/!___!___/ !_! !___\___/!_|\_!___/
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/|\/ |_ _| \| | | ____! / _ \ / __ \
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/ \ !___!_!\_! | |__ | !_! | | | | |
_/___\_ _ ___ ___ | __! | _ | | | | |
!_ _| |_| |_ _/ __! | | | | | | | | | |
| | | _ || |\__ \ | | | | | | | !__! |
!_! !_! !_!___!___/ !_! !_! !_! \___\_\
1. What is ASCII art?
2. What are the different kinds of ASCII art?
3. What is the best way to view ASCII art?
4. How do I save, 'uudecode' and view animations and color images?
5. How can I learn to make ASCII art?
6. Are there any ASCII tools?
7. Where can I get ASCII tools?
8. Where can I find ASCII art?
9. Can I get The Scarecrow's files via email?
10. How do I make those big letters?
11. Where can I get Figlet?
12. How can I make gray scale pictures?
13. Where can I get gray scale converters?
14. How do I make good gray scale conversions?
15. What is 'anti-aliasing'?
16. How do I have my sig automatically added to my posts and email?
17. How do I put an animation in my plan?
17. What should I know about posting ASCII Art?
19. Who made this FAQ?
______________________________________________________________________________
___ _ _ ____ _ _ ______ _____ ____
O ,/ _ \ | \ | | / ___! | | | | | ____! | __ \ / ___!
/\/| !_! | | \| | | (___ | | /\ | | | !__ | !__) | | (___
/ | _ | | . ` | \___ \ \ \/ \/ / | __! | _ / \___ \ O ,
/\ | | | | | |\ | ____) | \ /\ / | !____ | | \ \ ____) ||\/
/_/_ !_! !_! !_! \_! !_____/ \/ \/ !______! !_! \_\ !_____/ |/\_
1. What is ASCII art?
An image that can be sent over the Net, A B C D E F G H I
received and immediately viewed on any J K L M N O P Q R
standard terminal type or communications S T U V W X Y Z
software, and can be printed on any printer. a b c d e f g h i
This requires the image be made by using j k l m n o p q r
only letters, numbers, punctuation marks s t u v w x y z
and symbols such as those at the right.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
These characters are part of the ASCII
(American Standard Code for Information \ | - _ + % @ < ; !
Interchange) set. This part of the ASCII = # . , : > ( ] / $
set, called the 'printable' set, is used ^ ' ` " ~ ) [ { } ?
for text files, which is what is sent
over the Net. Standard ASCII characters.
2. What are the different kinds of ASCII art?
The first four use the standard printable set. They are:
o Line drawing - Such as the light bulb above.
o Lettering - Large and styled, like the title "ASCII ART FAQ" above.
o Gray scale pictures - These :x<:i!lI? #R?<:~B:M88~ 488H~"88XM8~ ~HRtxH#
/||\ /\|()1{}[] +++x8!:<'8!@8!. ""!:.#8M8# ~> ?%8xx!:i:`MHbLX
\||/ LCJUYXZO0Q :*:!!:nM.~!~`< Host: src.doc.ic.ac.uk
-> Host: wuarchive.wustl.edu.
There are also:
o Picture Stories - A story told with accompaning ASCII pictures. The
text and ASCII graphics are usually intermixed, as above where the
picture of Einstein and text about gray scale pics are side by side.
o Geometric Articles - Text itself is formed into shapes.
o Picture Poems - Geometric Articles that are also poems.
See ASCII Art Resources for examples.
The other kinds of ASCII images contain 'control codes' for animation and
color. These pics have to be processed before they can be sent over the Net.
This processing changes the control codes to regular printable ASCII
characters, so the pic can be sent as a text file. This is called
'uuencoding'. You may see uuencoded posts from time to time.
The file is processed back again after it is received. This is called
'uudecoding'. See question 4 to learn how to save, 'uudecode' and view
animations and color images.
o ASCII animations - You see an animated image produced by a sequence of
changing ASCII pictures. The speed will depend on the system you are
using. ANSI escape sequences are in ASCII Art Resources.
o Color - You can view color ASCII pics, if you have a color screen and
'ANSI' color compatible software.
Examples are in ASCII Art Resources.
3. What is the best way to view ASCII art?
For best results in viewing ASCII art, try the following:
o A non-proportional font, also called a 'mono-spaced' font. This is a
font that displays the same number of characters per inch, regardless of
the actual width of the characters. So the letters i and m are
displayed at the same characters per inch. If you are viewing with a
mono-spaced font, the following two lines should be the same width:
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
o A small, say 9 point type, will help to increase the apparent
resolution. Small type also helps the illusion of gray scale images.
o Viewing from a distance of a meter or more also helps.
o Use light characters on a dark background. Many ASCII pictures are
meant to be viewed light on dark. This is because the artist can more
easily control the light and get a better lighting effect. Also, the
viewer benefits because there is less glare than you would get from a
light background.
o Use dark characters on a light background, or print out the picture.
Some gray scale art may look like a negative image when viewed with
light colored letters on a dark background. This is because it is meant
to be printed with dark ink on light paper.
o Use a very small, say 4 point font or print out the picture. Most ASCII
pics are made to be viewed on a monitor that displays 80 characters
across. But some ASCII art is wider, say, 81 to 132 characters across,
and is meant to be printed.
There are a couple important things to remember when making, viewing, or
talking about an ASCII art image. And they're obvious but almost always
forgotten.
One is fonts. Even though different fonts may all be mono-spaced, they ARE
different, and can give a picture a different look. Some artists may mention
the font the picture was made with.
Another is that different systems display text differently. If you look at
a picture on a terminal at a Unix site, and then bring it home and view it on
a Mac, it will look different. On the Mac, it will have a greater aspect
ratio. In other words, it will look shorter top to bottom. Even though it
contains the same number of lines.
4. How do I save, 'uudecode' and view animations and color images?
You need to do the following if you want to save an animation or color
image from a newsreader, uudecode and view. Type the name of the file where
I have 'FILENAME'. On a Unix system, the process is usually as easy as:
o Press the 's' key while you are looking at the post in your newsreader
(or while the message is selected in Elm or Pine if it was mailed to
you).
o In your newsreader, you can type 's FILENAME' and choose a filename.
In Elm you'll get a 'save file to' prompt. In Pine, you'll be asked for
a folder name. Pine's 'folder' is actually a text file, so go ahead and
give it a name. Give your new file a unique name so the it isn't
appended to, or doesn't overwrite, any existing file.
o Quit your newsreader (or mailer) and go to where the file was saved.
o Type 'uudecode FILENAME'. This may change the file's name.
o You may need to decompress the file if it has a suffix such as .Z or .gz
or .zip (among others). For .Z, type 'uncompress FILENAME' and for
.gz, type 'gunzip FILENAME' and for .zip, type 'unzip FILENAME'. If it
was a .zip file, you may end up with several uncompressed files, as .zip
is an archive format that can hold more than one compressed file.
o Type 'cat FILENAME' and press the return.
o Alternatively, if you want to view an animation compressed as a .Z file,
you can view it without decompressing it by typing 'zcat FILENAME'.
To slow down an animation while viewing on your Unix host, you need to type
'cat -u FILENAME'. Note: if you are modeming into your host, the speed of
your connection will effect the speed of the animation. At 14.4 K, the
animation my go to quickly, while at 2400, it may go to slowly.
If you have uudecoded and decompressed a file and downloaded it, you need
to do the following:
o On your PC: you have to type 'type FILENAME' and press the return to
view it. You have to be sure there is a line reading:
"DEVICE=ANSI.SYS" or "DEVICEHIGH=ANSI.SYS" in your CONFIG.SYS file.
You should probably also convert these files to DOS-ASCII. Do this with
a CR/LF converter (FLIP.EXE from FLIP1EXE.ZIP). Be sure to use the
binary option because of the escape codes.
o On your Amiga: open a large Cli/Shell and type 'type FILENAME' and press
return to view it.
5. How can I learn to make ASCII art?
Unfortunately, there aren't many text books on the subject. :-) A good
way to learn is to study how an artist has made a picture. What characters
are chosen. How are the characters laid out? How is a texture made.
You can also modify existing art. Take a piece of art you think could be
improved. Make a copy. Now work on it. When you are good at that, try to
improve a really good pic. Then see if you can fix a damaged file. Now take
some small pics and put them together into a big composite image.
If you're working from scratch, the following may help you:
o Decide whet you want. Block out the sizes ond shapes of things so you
can get the proportions right. Do it now, not later, you'll save work.
o Add detail. Concentrate on the focal point and important parts of your
drawing. ASCII art is low definition, so you'll have to make the pic
big if you want detail or real smoothness. Take a tip frmo master
cartoonists, just try to suggest things, don't try to replicate them.
Too much detail can end up looking confusing.
o One of the biggest helps is learning how to shape things. For example,
you can curve a horizontal line with just the _ and - and ".
_____-------~~~~~~--------_____-------~~~~~~
o Slanting vertical lines is easy. The line on the right is made with
just the , and '.
/ ,'
/ ,'
/ ,'
/ ,'
/ ,'
/ ,'
o Then there's smoothing. Turn the object on the left into the one on the
right by using characters for their shapes. Notice how the sides on the
object are curved using the d b and *. The 8 is a popular character for
a general fill. Some people prefer M or H for fills.
XXXX d88b
XXXXXXXX d888888b
XXXXXXXXXX (88888888)
XXXXXXXX *888888*
XXXX *88*
o Use areas of characters for patters, tones, and contrast. For example,
when I was making my map sig, I tried all kinds of combinations to get
the tonal range I wanted. Notice how there are four nice tonalities.
There's the dark with spaces, a dark quarter tone with the :, a mid tone
with the /, and a bright tone with the #. There is no light quarter
tone, that's to accentuate the bright tone.
:::::::::::::::// ::// :://////// ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::://///////// // ://// ::::// :::://////////////// :::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::://///// ::/ ::// ::::://////////////////// :/ ::::::::::::::::::
::::::::::::://///////// :::::::/ ////////////////////// :::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::::::://///////// ::::::::://////////////////////// / :::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::////////// :::::::::::// //////////////////// / :::::::::::::::::
:::::::##### ::#### //#### ::##### ::##### :#### :##### ///#### / ## :## :## :
:::::## :::::## ////## :## :## :## :## ://## ///:## :## /## :## :## :## :## ::
:::::#### ::## :://###### :##### ::#### /## ///:##### ::## :## :## :## :## :::
:::::::## :## ::::## :## :## ## ::## ///## ///:## ## ::## :## :## :## :## ::::
::##### :::#### :## /## :## :## :##### /#### :## :## ::#### :::######## ::::::
::::::::::::::::://////// ::::::::::://///// ::::::::::/ ::::// ::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::://////// :::::::::::////// :::::::::::::::::// :::::::::::::
::::::::::::::::::://///// :::::::::::////// / :::::::::::/// / ::::::::::::::
::::::::::::::::::::///// ::::::::::::://// / :::::::::://///// ::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::://// :::::::::::::::// :::::::::::://////// ::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::// :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::// :/// :/ ::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::/ ::::::::boba@gagme.wwa.com ::::::::::::/ ::::::::::::::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
One thing you can do to ease your work is to make a flie full of line of
spaces. Now copy that file. Open a copy and start working. You'll see that
it's easier because you can now go where you want and replace the spaces with
characters. You have eliminated endless space bar pressing.
A quick way to make a pic is to photocopy a drawing onto plastic. Place
the plastic over your manitor to act as a guide for placing characters.
See question 7 for info about the file 'asciitech.aa'. Send any ASCII art
techniques you know to: boba@gagme.wwa.com.
6. Are there any ASCII tools?
Not many. The Emacs editor offers some help, if you know how to use it.
Q-Edit is an ASCII editor with block cut and paste. And TheDraw can do some
ANSI tricks but is limited by RAM size.
There are Unix and DOS scripts for flipping an ASCII pic (like modasc by
Ric Hotchkiss). BBSdraw is available for the Amiga. So is CygnusEd, which
allows column editing. And also the TPU editor for VAX. And then there's
mdraw.el for GNU Emacs 19 under X, that lets you draw ASCII with a mouse.
7. Where can I get ASCII tools?
You can get TheDraw at:
-> Host: oak.oakland.edu
Path: pub/msdos/screen/tdraw463.zip
You can get mdraw.el at:
-> Host: ftp.cse.psu.edu
Path: pub/flee/mdraw.el
8. Where can I find ASCII art?
You can FTP ASCII art (single pics and archives of dozens or hundreds of
images) from many sites, including these:
-> Host: mordor.ind.wpi.edu
Path: pub/ascii/art/pictures
pub/ascii/art/movies
Jorn's FTP site
-> Host: ftp.mcs.com
Path: mcsnet.users/jorn/ascii-art
Chris' FTP site
-> Host: ftp.ncsu.edu
Path: pub/ncsu/chking/Archive
pub/ncsu/chking/Pics/ASCII
WWW: http://www2.ncsu.edu/unity/users/c/chking/HTML:/ascii.html/
-> Host: ftp.cs.ttu.edu
Path: pub/asciiart
Juan's FTP site
-> Host: ftp.cs.uoregon.edu
Path: pub/juan/Ascii
-> Host: aug3.augsburg.edu
Path: files/text_files
ASCII art files are appended with '.art'.
-> Host: tuda.newcastle.ac.uk
Address: 128.240.2.1
Path: pub/local/n1ka0/animation
Contains dozens of animations
The following are gopher servers:
ASCII Art Bazaar
Over 5 megabytes, 2000 + pieces in 17 categories
-> Host: twinbrook.cis.uab.edu
Path: 70/1asciiarc.70 (70/11asciiarc.70 on some clients)
WWW: //twinbrook.cis.uab.edu/hhomepage.80 (w/HTML support)
//twinbrook.cis.uab.edu:70/1asciiarc.70
//twinbrook.cis.uab.edu:70/11asciiarc.70
Gopher Bookmark:Name=The ASCII Art Bazaar
Host=twinbrook.cis.uab.edu
Port=70
Path=asciiarc.70
Type=1
-> Host: gopher.cs.ttu.edu
Path: 1/Art and Images/ClipArt (ASCII)
The following is a mailing list:
ASCII Art of the Day
You receive a piece of ASCII art every day.
-> Email: thurstme@cda.mrs.umn.edu
Subject Line: Add me to the Ascii-art of the day list
ASCII Art Resources contains a longer list of sites. And it tells you
which sites have animations and lineprinter art.
If you need more technical info about ASCII art, get Jorn's file called
'asciitech.aa' in Jorn's 'ascii-art' folder at his FTP site. His site also
has many files of ASCII art.
Chris and Steve's sites have Steve Sullivan's many files of ASCII art
called Small ASCII Pics. They are available separately, or all together in a
tar.Z file. Don't miss 'em.
Jorn and Chris' FTP sites also have the big Scarecrow's ASCII Art Archives.
The Scarecrow's archives contain hundreds of pieces of art, special sections
on sig and plan art, graphics form BBS login and server screens, fonts, GIF
conversions, and more.
These sites also have a file called the Most Often Requested Edition. It
contains the pics that people request the most on the group. It has pics for
wishing friends a happy birthday, Star Trek, flowers, dragons, hearts, cows,
Winnie the Pooh, etc.
There's also ASCII Art Resources (containing complete examples of all forms
af ASCII art, plus ANSI escape cods, and examples of Figlet fonts). You'll
also find the Scarecrow's separate files of humor, sigs, GIFs, fonts, BBS art,
etc. (which are listed in the answer to the next question).
9. Can I get The Scarecrow's files via email?
Yes. If you do NOT have FTP available, you can get files by email.
To receive || send email to boba@gagme.wwa.com with the subject ||
\||/ \||/
\/ \/
File Name Version Size Subject line
o ASCII ART FAQ 2.1 - 36 K REQUEST FAQ
o ASCII Art Resources 2.1 - 85 K REQUEST RESOURCES
These archives contain everything in the Scarecrow's edited collection:
o The Scarecrow's ASCII Art Archive 1.0 - 349 K REQUEST SAAA 1.0
o The Scarecrow's ASCII Art Archive 2.0 - 362 K REQUEST SAAA 2.0
o The Scarecrow's ASCII Art Archive 3.0 - 369 K REQUEST SAAA 3.0
These files are subsets of the above archives:
o Best of the SAAAs 1.0 - 610 K REQUEST BEST
o Best of the ASCII Pics 1.0 - 205 K REQUEST PICS
o Most Often Requested Edition 1.2 - 107 K REQUEST MORE
o The Scarecrow's Funnies (humor) 2.1 - 68 K REQUEST FUNNIES
o The Scarecrow's Font File 1.0 - 127 K REQUEST FONTS
o Best of Scarecrow's Sig Gallery 1.2 - 207 K REQUEST SIGS
o Best of Scarecrow's BBS Gallery 1.3 - 88 K REQUEST BBS
o Best of Scarecrow's GIF Gallery 1.1 - 62 K REQUEST GIFS
o Best of Scarecrow's 3-D Gallery 1.0 - 30 K REQUEST 3-D
The Scarecrow's recommendations:
o If you're short on disk space, I would suggest you save this FAQ and get
just those files containing the type(s) of art you are interested in.
o If you have a bit more disk space, you may want to save this FAQ or get
ASCII Art Resources, and the Best of the SAAAs.
o If you have some disk space to spare, you should get the ASCII Art
Resources file, and all of the SAAAs. Over 1100 K of info and art.
You'll be an ASCII art expert and collector, instantly!
ASCII Art Resources contains descriptions of the above files.
When requesting files, please be sure to use the subject lines above.
That way I won't accidentally delete a request thinking it's something from a
list server I don't want to see.
When writing to me about other things, please use a good strong subject
line. If you are responding to my reply, please try to include some of what
we have both said, or I may have no clue what it's about.
And please be patient. If your message is the first I see when I open my
mailbox, you'll get an answer right away. If it's the 137th, it may take a
little longer. I answer most mail the same day. If you don't get an answer
try again as I may have pressed the wrong button.
10 How do I make those big letters?
You can make lettering like the above subtitle "ANSWERS" by hand, or
use a program called Figlet. With Figlet, the letters you type are
automatically turned into big letters. There are over 30 fonts for use with
Figlet. ASCII Art Resources contains examples of most all Figlet fonts.
Figlet stands for Frank, Ian and Glenn's LETters. Figlet is available for
use on some host systems. Some other hosts have a program called Banner
which performs a similar function.
11. Where can I get Figlet?
You can FTP Figlet from:
-> Host: ftp.isu.edu
Path: pub/figlet
This is the official site and contains the latest fonts.
12. How can I make gray scale pictures?
You can make them from scratch if you are a very good ASCII artist. An
easier way is to use a program called 'ASCGIF'. There is also Gifscii (with a
version for the Mac and Vax), ANSIrez and GIF2ANSI for the PC. These programs
make an ASCII pic from any GIF image (or image you can convert to a GIF).
Most converters require the GIF to be in 87a format, not 89a format. GIFs
in 89a format, must be converted to 87a format first. Some programs capable
of viewing GIFs can save in the 87a format.
13. Where can I get gray scale converters?
You can FTP ASCGIF from:
-> Host: usc.edu
Path: archive/usenet/sources/comp.sources.misc/volume30/ascgif
-> Host: wuarchive.wustl.edu
Path: usenet/comp.sources.misc/volume30/ascgif
-> Host: ftp.uu.net
Path: usenet/comp.sources.misc/volume30/ascgif
You can get GIF2ANSI from:
-> BBS: Exec-PC (414) 789-4210
GIF2ANSI.ZIP is in the "Mahoney MS-DOS" file collection.
You can get Gifscii for the Mac, and the source code from:
-> Host: ftp.ncsu.edu
Path: pub/ncsu/chking/Archive
Chris' FTP site
-> Host: ftp.mcs.com
Path: mcsnet.users/jorn/ascii-art
Jorn's FTP site
If you do NOT have FTP, you can get Gifscii for the Mac, and the source
code from:
-> Email: boba@gagme.wwa.com
Subject Line: REQUEST GIFSCII
REQUEST GIFSCII SOURCE
14. How do I make good gray scale conversions?
Most of us start out thinking that you just put a GIF into a converter
program and out comes a perfect ASCII pic. Would you believe... But
there are some things you can do to improve the chances of getting a good
conversion.
The following is not a complete list, but it is what I have learned in
making dozens of conversions:
o Use an 8 bit gray scale or color image instead of a 2 bit B&W image.
o Use an image with a wide range of tones, with a relatively even
distribution of shades from dark to light.
o Keep it simple, like a face or close-up of an object. Avoid complicated
pictures, they seldom produce good results.
o Avoid busy backgrounds. Also, assuming the preference for viewing the
final ASCII pic is light characters on a dark background, try to avoid
bright backgrounds in the original gray scale image.
o Use an image that is tightly cropped, without a lot of waste.
o Be prepared to quickly run through a series of conversions. You will
probably not like the majority of conversions you get. Be prepared to
discard 9 to 11 out of 12.
o It helps to do touch-up work on the converted picture. Most pics I have
posted have been touched-up to some degree or another. Concentrate on
the focal points and important areas of the picture.
15. What is 'anti-aliasing'?
It's a hate group against people who use assumed names. :-) Just kidding,
the short, plain english explanation is that special care was taken to use
characters for their shapes. This makes the picture or font look smoother.
16. How do I have my sig automatically added to my posts and email?
For posts to newsgroups:
On most Unix systems, name the file you want to be used as ".signature"
and put it in the top level of your home folder. Your news software should
pick it up. Note: some systems are set up to allow only four lines in a
posted sig.
For email:
On most Unix systems, name the file you want to be used as ".signature"
and put it in the top level of your home folder. If you have done this for
the above use in news posts, you need to, in additon, do one of the following:
o If you're using Elm for your email, and elm doesn't pick up your sig,
you need to put the following in ypur elmrc:
localsignature = ~/.signature
remotesignature = ~/.signature
If you don't have an elmrc yet, go into Elm, press the 'o' key to get to
the options screen. Press the '>' to save your configuration. Press
'i' to go back to the index, and quit. This will create the elmrc file
in the .elm folder.
o If you're using Pine (with Pico) for your email, place the following in
your .pinerc file:
signature-file=~/.signature
o If you're using vm (in emacs) for your email, place the following in
your .emacs file, which will add the .signature file:
(setq mail-signature t)
One note about sig usage. Try to use short sigs for posts to newsgroups.
If you have any long sigs, try to only use them for email and posts to the
ASCII art groups.
17. How do I put an animation in my plan?
On most Unix systems, name the file you want to be used as ".plan" and put
it in top level of your home folder. It does not work with all finger
commands.
To test your 'planimation', finger your account with your full address, not
just your login. For example, type 'finger foo@bar.edu' and not 'finger foo'.
Putting an animation in your plan is not universally recommended.
18. What should I know about posting ASCII Art?
You can post any of the above types of ASCII art to alt.ascii-art or to
alt.binaries.pictures.ascii groups. Animations can also be posted to
alt.ascii-art.animation. 3-D art can also be posted to alt.3d.
To make it easier for everybody, please put one of the following subject
IDs at the beginning of the subject line of your post:
LINE - Standard ASCII line art. Line pictures and large lettering.
GIF - Gray scale image.
BIG - Wider than 80 columns (and optionally, longer than 24 lines).
ANIMATION - Animation. Usually uuencoded.
COLOR - Color. Usually uuencoded.
3-D - 3-D art.
REQUEST - Request for a certain picture or type of picture.
REPOST - Repost of a previously posted pic.
TALK - Discussion, no pics included.
BINARY - Binaries (software like Figlet and ASCGIF).
Here are some guidelines for posting to the ASCII groups:
o If someone requests a picture only days after it has been posted, and
you would like to fill that request, please email the picture to the
person requesting it. It's better than reposting so soon.
o Try to eliminate unnecessary blank space to the left of the pic, and
trailing space to the right. This reduces waste.
o If you're posting a collection of pics, try to keep each pic on its own
lines (and separated from other pics by a couple of lines).
o Replace tabs with spaces. Otherwise tab damage can occur.
Most general Net guidelines for posting apply here too:
o Try to stay on topic (ASCII art). It's easy to get sidetracked
into other things, especially when a cross-posted thread gets going.
o If you're a new user, familiarize yourself with Net guidelines posted
in news.announce.newusers.
In addition, when following up an article:
o Read all the articles in a thread before posting.
o Decide whether it's better to post or email your message.
o Disagree with what someone has said, but don't flame them.
o Check the attributions.
o Try to keep quoted materials to a minimum. Summarize where possible.
One exception to the usual rules is the use of sigs. Because the groups
alt.ascii-art and alt.binaries.pictures.ascii are about ASCII art, it is
within the scope of these groups to post sigs.
19. Who made this FAQ?
It is made by your old friend, the Scarecrow. Materials for the ASCII ART
FAQ and-or ASCII Art Resources were gratefully received from the following
nice people:
JORN BARGER
_______________________ ROWAN CRAWFORD
/ \ NORMAND VEILLEUX
| That's all folks! | GLEN A MILLER
| See ASCII Art Resources | JUDY ANDERSON
| for many examples. | MICHAEL A GODIN
\___________________ _/ STEVEN M SULLIVAN
\ | LARS ARONSSON
\| CHRIS PIRILLO
\ CHEVALIER
Q ALEX ZHAO
DOV SHERMAN
MATT RYAN
A RICH
C. GROOM
FELIX LEE
R L SAMUELL
NICK RUSNOV
DON BERTINO
MATT MESSINA
SIMON BRADLEY
PAUL FOERSTER
RIC HOTCHKISS
WINSTON SMITH
O'NEIL PARKER
DUSTIN SLATER
GLENN CHAPPELL
DANIEL HOLDREN
JOEL ROTHSCHILD
BENJAMIN THOMAS
BRIAN DEVENDORF
EVAN M CORCORAN
COLIN DOUTHWAITE
MEINDERT DE JONG
MATT E. THURSTON
CHRISTOPHER KING
JONATHAN PETERSON
______________________________________________________________________________
Version: 2.1
Released: May 16, 1994
Characters: 36548
Lines: 819
Comments To: boba@gagme.wwa.com
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