Date:  Wed, 14 Jun 1995 11:01:12 +0100

From:  debaron[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UIUC.EDU

Subject: Re: new phrase



One of the initial presuppositions of email is that it represents a freedom

from conventional communication constraints, eg no salutation or

capitalization or even much in the way of punctuation. I don't think we

need to worry about French enamel, either. But I do notice that with the

advent of more sophisticated mail programs like Eudora, which give us the

option of writing that is more like word-processor writing, people are

starting to bring in the old constraints, worrying about appropriateness,

spelling, fancy sig.files, and so on. So my question is this, was the

freedom and anarchy of early net communication partly a function of the

limited word processing technology, and is that starting to recede? Woe the

day when mail programs get spell checking utilities!



Dennis

--



Dennis Baron                      debaron[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]uiuc.edu



Department of English             office: 217-333-2392

University of Illinois                fax: 217-333-4321

608 South Wright Street            home: 217-384-1683

Urbana, Illinois 61801