faqs.txt

File: academy/faqs/faq_allison.txt
http://www.ascii-art.de/info/faq_allison.txt

From - Thu Jun 26 21:25:54 1997
From: cfbd@southern.co.nz (Colin Douthwaite)
Newsgroups: alt.ascii-art,alt.ascii-art.animation,alt.binaries.pictures.ascii
Subject: Ye Olde Ascii Art FAQ ( Bob Allison )
Date: 24 Jun 1997 19:04:34 GMT
Message-ID: <5op5o2$qnu$5@mnementh.southern.co.nz>


**********************     IMPORTANT NOTE    ************************

   This is a copy of the last Ascii Art FAQ posted before Bob
   Allison ( Scarecrow ) retired as Moderator of the newsgroup
   "rec.arts.ascii" in June 1996.

   There is no guarantee that any of the references to Archives,
   FTP Sites, Websites and Files are still valid.

********************************************************************



Summary: what ASCII art is - why and what it's used for - types of
         ASCII art how to use FTP, Gopher, WWW - how to save,
         'uudecode' and uncompress copyright info - how to make big
         letters and gray scale pictures how to put an animation in
         your .plan - info on posting ASCII art how to make sigs -
         how to automatically add a sig to posts and email how to
         make and view ASCII art - where to get art and tools - more


    .                                                            .
                '           +          `  .          *          .  *      '
 . +   .               ' .      '     . `     .       .     '  )    .   +
   '.    '   _______  ______ ______ ______ ______ `  ______ _______ _______
 '.    +.   /______//______//_____//_____//_____/ . /_____//____  //_______
 .     . ` _______ _____  '___  +   ___ '. ___     ______ _____/ /   __ . '
  '     : / ___  /.\___ \*/ /  .   / /  * / / '   / __  // .  __/. '/ /  .
.   '   ./ /. / /_____) // /___  _/ /_  _/ /_    / / / // / \ \   '/ / '
 +   .  /_/ '/_//______//_____//_____//_____/ './_/ /_//_/ * \_\' /_/   '
      +___________________ . ___________________ ' ___________________  '
  '   /                  / ./                  /. /                  /' .
  *  /__________________/' /__________________/  /    _________     /  .
  ' .    :     `  .       +    ' .        *     /    /   .  ' /    /.
   _______________   .   ___________________ ' /    /   `    /    /   '
. /              /     '/                  /. /    /  .  +  /    / .    *
 /    __________/  ' . /    _________     /  /    /'.    /\/    /     (
/    /     .          /    /  .     /    / '/    /______/      /  :   `.
    /     ( '      ' /    /  . +   /    /. /                  / .    '
___/   .     `      /____/.       /____/  /________________  /           `
       Version 4.9.2              April 9, 1996              \/       .
       .                  '            *                          .
          .                         `                                    .

  .


    ___              ___  _   _ ___ ___ _____ ___ ___  _  _ ___
   |   |            / _ \| | | | __/ __!_   _!_ _/ _ \| \| / __!
   |   |           | (_) | |_| | _|\__ \ | |  | | (_) | .` \__ \
   |   |            \__\_\\___/!___!___/ !_! !___\___/!_|\_!___/
   |   |             O  _    ___ _  _    ______   ___      ____
   |   |            /|\/    |_ _| \| |  |  ____! / _ \    / __ \
 __!   !__,        / |       | || .` |  | |     | | | |  | |  | |
 \       / \O       / \     !___!_!\_!  | |__   | !_! |  | |  | |
  \     / \/|     _/___\_   _ ___ ___   |  __!  |  _  |  | |  | |
   \   /    |    !_   _| |_| |_ _/ __!  | |     | | | |  | |  | |
    \ /    / \     | | |  _  || |\__ \  | |     | | | |  | !__! |
     Y   _/  _\    !_! !_! !_!___!___/  !_!     !_! !_!   \___\_\



   1  What is ASCII art?
   2  Why use ASCII art instead of a GIF?
   3  What is ASCII art used for?
   4  What are the different kinds of ASCII art?
   5  What is the best way to view ASCII art?
   6  How can I learn to make ASCII art?
   7  Are there any ASCII tools?
   8  Where can I get ASCII tools?
   9  Where can I find ASCII art?
  10  How do I use FTP, Gopher, World Wide Web, and FTP Mail Servers?
  11  What does the Scarecrow recommend?
  12  Is it OK to copy ASCII art?
  13  How do I make those big letters?
  14  Where can I get Figlet?
  15  How can I make Gray Scale pictures?
  16  Where can I get Gray Scale converters?
  17  How can I make better Gray Scale conversions?
  18  What do those filename extensions mean?
  19  What is 'uuencoding'?
  20  How do I save, 'uudecode' and uncompress a file?
  21  How do I view animations and color images?
  22  How do I put an animation in my plan?
  23  How do I make a sig?
  24  How do I have my sig automatically added to my posts and email?
  25  What should I know about posting ASCII Art?
  26  Where is this FAQ available?
  27  Who made this FAQ?


__________________________________________________________________________


           ___    _   _    ____   _      _   ______   _____     ____
       O ,/ _ \  | \ | |  / ___! | |    | | |  ____! |  __ \   / ___!
      /\/| !_! | |  \| | | (___  | | /\ | | | !__    | !__) | | (___
     /   |  _  | | . ` |  \___ \ \ \/  \/ / |  __!   |  _  /   \___ \ O  ,
    /\   | | | | | |\  |  ____) | \  /\  /  | !____  | | \ \   ____) ||\/
   /_/_  !_! !_! !_! \_! !_____/   \/  \/   !______! !_!  \_\ !_____/ |/\_



  1  What is ASCII art?

  Standard ASCII art is made with characters, such as:

  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
  a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
  A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
  \ | - _ + % @ < ; ! = # . , : > ( ] / & $ ^ ' ` " ~ ) [ { } ? *


  These characters are part of the ASCII (as - kee, America Standard
Code for Information Interchange) set.  This part of the ASCII set,
is called the 'printable set' (7 bits, characters 32 to 126).
There's also non-standard ASCII art, which contain 'contral codes'.

  ASCII art is popular, with several ASCII art groups on the various
information services.  Before computers, ASCII art was made on typewriters,
teletype machines (5 bit), and was created typographically.  There are even
tee-shirts with the :-) smiley.



  2  Why use ASCII art instead of a GIF?

  ASCII art is used because:

o Standard ASCII art is the only type of graphics easily transmitted
  and instantly viewable on any terminal, emulation, or
  communications software.

o If you can view text, you can view ASCII art (as it is made up of
  standard text characters).  No conversion or special software
  required to view.  Non-standard ASCII art (8 bit with control
  codes) requires that the file be saved and "cat'd".  See Questions
  20 and 21.

o ASCII art is compact, a few K, not 20, 50, 100 or more K!



  3  What is ASCII art used for?

  ASCII art is used for many things, like:

o EDUCATION - A periodic table or molecular model for example.

o CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION - Pictures are international.

o BBS & SERVER SCREENS - Login and logoff screens, MUDs, promos, etc.

o ENTERTAINMENT - Like a birthday 'card', holiday greetings,
  invitations, congradulatory messages, children's picture stories,
  etc.

o VISUAL AID - Such as a wiring diagram, floor plan, illustrated
  instructions, or flow chart, to eliminate a long involved
  explanation with a graphic.



  4  What are the different kinds of ASCII art?

  The first four use the standard printable set, and can be viewed
anywhere, anytime, on any equipment.  They are:

o Line drawing - Such as the stickmen above.  This type of image is
  made using characters for their shapes.

o Lettering - Large and styled, like the title "ASCII ART FAQ" above.

o Gray Scale picture - These create the illusion of gray shades by
  using characters for their light emitting value (assuming you are
  viewing light characters on a dark background).  For example:

  $@B%8&WM#*oahkbdpqwmZO0QLCJUYXzcvunxrjft/\|()1{}[]?-_+~<>i!lI;:,"^`'.

  Lighter   <- viewing light characters on a dark background ->   Darker
  Darker    <- viewing dark characters on a light background ->   Lighter

o 3-D images - They can be viewed by people with similar vision in
  both eyes.  You try to focus as if you are looking at the back of
  the monitor.  The image should pop into focus and create a 3-D
  illusion.  Other 3-D images are viewed by putting your nose on the
  monitor glass.  See ASCII Art Resources for info on where to get
  3-D programs.


  Other forms of ASCII art using the standard printable set include
the following four:

o Geometric Article - Text is formed into interesting, meaningful shapes.

o Picture Poem - A geometric article that is also a poem.  See the
  swan in the examples in ASCII Art Resources and ASCII Art
  Reference (the Web version of the FAQ).

o Page Making - Text and graphics are intermixed, as in a magazine.

o Picture Story - A story told with accompanying ASCII pictures.
  Created using ASCII art page making techniques.

  There are also non-standard types of ASCII art which cannot be
viewed immediately upon receiving.  They contain 'control codes' for
color or animation.  They must be 'uuencoded' to be posted or
emailed.  For further information, see Question 19.


  The three types of non-standard ASCII art are:

o Animation - You see an animated image produced by a sequence of
  changing ASCII pictures.  Animation speed depends on the system
  you are on, and modem speed, if used.  "ANSI" (American National
  Standards Institute) escape sequences can be found in ASCII Art
  Resources and ASCII Art Reference (the Web version of the FAQ).

o Color Graphics - You can view color ASCII pics, if you have a
  color screen and ANSI color compatible software.  Check to see if
  your software supports ANSI color, and how it is enabled.

o Color Animation - For an example of color and animation together,
  take a look at the file called "Vortex" in the Scarecrow's FTP
  site.

  Examples are in ASCII Art Resources and ASCII Art Reference (the
Web version of the FAQ).


  But wait, there are other kinds of ASCII art:

o Overstrike Art - It contains carriage returns without line feeds
  at times.  The print head can overstrike a line on the paper that
  has already been printed on.  This allows for darkening, and for
  placing different characters at the same place on the paper.  This
  kind of art is obviously only printed.

o Srcoll Animation - This is an animation that is made to be viewed
  by scrolling down.  The image plays out as the screen is redrawn
  with the next 'page' of the image.



  5  What is the best way to view ASCII art?

  For best results in viewing ASCII art, try:

o A 'non-proportional' font, also called a 'mono-spaced' font.  This
  is a font that displays the same number of characters per inch, no
  matter what the actual width of the characters.  If you are
  viewing with a mono-spaced font, the two lines below should appear
  the same length.

  iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
  MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

  If they don't look the same length, try another font.  Names to
  look for on various systems include: Monaco, Courier, Courier New,
  Video Terminal, System, TTY, VT100, Screen, Terminal, FixedSys,
  Line Printer, etc.


o A small, say, 9 point font, will help to increase the apparent
  resolution, and the illusion of gray scale images.

o Viewing from a distance of a meter or more.

o Using light characters on a dark background.  Many ASCII pictures
  are meant to be viewed light on dark.  This allows the artist more
  control over the light.  Also, you see less glare than you would
  from a light background.

  And in some instances:

o While most gray scale pics are made to be viewed light characters
  on a dark background, some will be made to view dark on light.
  This is because they are meant to be printed with dark ink on
  light paper.  Use dark characters on a light background, or print
  them out.

o While most ASCII pics are made to be viewed on a monitor that
  displays 80 characters across, some ASCII pics are wider, say, 81
  to 132 characters across.  They are meant to be printed.  Use a
  small, say, 4 point type, and view dark on light, or print them
  out.

o While mast ASCII art is either ready to view, 'cat' or print, you
  may find art that has been saved as a picture in a bitmap, EPS,
  GIF, or other binary format.  These must be viewed or printed with
  the appropriate software.


  There are a few important things to remember when making, viewing,
or talking about an ASCII art image.  And they're obvious but almost
always forgotten.

o Even though different fonts may all be mono-spaced, they ARE
  different, and can make a picture LOOK different.  Some artists
  may mention the font the picture was made with.

o A font may be serif or sans-serif (serifs are the little feet on
  the characters).  The ascenders and descenders may be straight or
  curved.  And characters may be wide or narrow.

o The weight, or heaviness of characters can vary.  Serifs can make
  them look heavier.  Often effected by weight inconsistencies are
  symbols like:  # $ @

o Shapes can vary too:
  The more consistent shapes are:  - / \
  The more inconsistent shapes are:  ~ ^ * & | ' [ ] < > 0 l y

o Fonts from different countries may have different characters in them.
  Characters that may not appear in a font are:  ^ ` # | { } ~ \ [ ] $ @

o 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 be
  displayed shorter top to bottom.  In other words, it will have a
  greater aspect ratio.  Even though it contains the same number of
  lines.

  See ASCII Art Resources and ASCII Art Reference (the Web version
of the FAQ) for an aspect ratio chart.



  6  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.  Diddle a GIF conversion.
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 what 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
  from 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 knowing how to shape things.  For
  example, you can curve a horizontal line with just:  _ - "

                  _____-------"""""""--------_____-------"""""""

o Slanting vertical lines is easy.  These four line are all made
  with a few characters, like:  / , _ - ' "

         /                 ,'                ,-'                   ,_-'"
        /                ,'               ,-'                 ,_-'"
       /               ,'              ,-'               ,_-'"
      /              ,'             ,-'             ,_-'"
     /             ,'            ,-'           ,_-'"
    /            ,'           ,-'         ,_-'"

o Then there's smoothing, also called "anti-aliasing".  This is
  where special care is taken to use characters for their shapes.
  With this technique, you can smooth out a font, or an object like
  the one below.  Notice how the sides on the object are curved
  using:  d b ( ) Y

                       XXXX                         d88b
                     XXXXXXXX   <- Turn this      d888888b
                    XXXXXXXXXX                   (88888888)
                     XXXXXXXX      Into this ->   Y888888Y
                       XXXX                         Y88Y

  Popular fills are:  8 M H

o Use areas of characters for patterns, tones, and contrast.  For
  example, in this flower, notice the density of the letters
  subtlely change to form the petals.  I would like to see this
  colorized.

               .
              .@.                                    .
              @m@,.                                 .@
             .@m%nm@,.                            .@m@
            .@nvv%vnmm@,.                      .@mn%n@
           .@mnvvv%vvnnmm@,.                .@mmnv%vn@,
           @mmnnvvv%vvvvvnnmm@,.        .@mmnnvvv%vvnm@
           @mmnnvvvvv%vvvvvvnnmm@, ;;;@mmnnvvvvv%vvvnm@,
           `@mmnnvvvvvv%vvvvvnnmmm;;@mmnnvvvvvv%vvvvnmm@
            `@mmmnnvvvvvv%vvvnnmmm;%mmnnvvvvvv%vvvvnnmm@
              `@m%v%v%v%v%v;%;%;%;%;%;%;%%%vv%vvvvnnnmm@
              .,mm@@@@@mm%;;@@m@m@@m@@m@mm;;%%vvvnnnmm@;@,.
           .,@mmmmmmvv%%;;@@vmvvvvvvvvvmvm@@;;%%vvnnm@;%mmm@,
        .,@mmnnvvvvv%%;;@@vvvvv%%%%%%%vvvvmm@@;;%%mm@;%%nnnnm@,
     .,@mnnvv%v%v%v%%;;@mmvvvv%%;*;*;%%vvvvmmm@;;%m;%%v%v%v%vmm@,.
 ,@mnnvv%v%v%v%v%v%v%;;@@vvvv%%;*;*;*;%%vvvvm@@;;m%%%v%v%v%v%v%vnnm@,
 `    `@mnnvv%v%v%v%%;;@mvvvvv%%;;*;;%%vvvmmmm@;;%m;%%v%v%v%vmm@'   '
         `@mmnnvvvvv%%;;@@mvvvv%%%%%%%vvvvmm@@;;%%mm@;%%nnnnm@'
            `@mmmmmmvv%%;;@@mvvvvvvvvvvmmm@@;;%%mmnmm@;%mmm@'
               `mm@@@@@mm%;;@m@@m@m@m@@m@@;;%%vvvvvnmm@;@'
              ,@m%v%v%v%v%v;%;%;%;%;%;%;%;%vv%vvvvvnnmm@
            .@mmnnvvvvvvv%vvvvnnmm%mmnnvvvvvvv%vvvvnnmm@
           .@mmnnvvvvvv%vvvvvvnnmm'`@mmnnvvvvvv%vvvnnmm@
           @mmnnvvvvv%vvvvvvnnmm@':%::`@mmnnvvvv%vvvnm@'
           @mmnnvvv%vvvvvnnmm@'`:::%%:::'`@mmnnvv%vvmm@
           `@mnvvv%vvnnmm@'     `:;%%;:'     `@mvv%vm@'
            `@mnv%vnnm@'          `;%;'         `@n%n@
             `@m%mm@'              ;%;.           `@m@
              @m@'                 `;%;             `@
              `@'                   ;%;.             '    Top portion of a
               `                    `;%;          picture by Susie Oviatt.


  Here are a few tips, that taken together, can make an instant
ASCII artist out of anybody:

o A quick way to make a pic is to photocopy a drawing onto plastic.
  Place the plastic over your monitor to act as a guide for placing
  characters.

o Ease your work by making a file full of lines 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.  Remember to strip all trailing spaces when you're done.

o Use a mouse to move more quickly from character to character and
  to delete bunches of characters and large numbers of lines.

o To avoid variation in characters, weights, and shapes found between
  different fonts, use the following characters:
       / ! ( ) ? = + - _ : ; , .

o Use 'block editing' if you can.  Some software allows for a square
  or rectangular chunk of text to be cut, copied and pasted.

o It may be better to work on your own computer (if it has more
  appropriate hardware and-ar software), and then upload it to your
  host.

  Also, see Jorn's "asciitech" file, available at Jorn's FTP site
and Scarecrow's FTP, Gopher, WWW sites.



  7  Are there any ASCII tools?

  Not many.  The Emacs editor offers some help, if you know how to
use it.  There are a couple of bits of Emacs code in the Scarecrow's
FTP site.  EmacsMouseCode let's you draw with a mouse, and
EmacsFigletCode let's you use Figlet within Emacs.

  Q-Edit and "vedit" are ASCII editors 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.



  8  Where can I get ASCII tools?

  You can get TheDraw at:

->  Host: oak.oakland.edu
    Path: pub/msdos/screen
    File: tdraw463.zip
     URL: ftp://oak.oakland.edu/pub/msdos/screen/tdraw463.zip

   You can get "mdraw.el" at:

->  Host: ftp.cse.psu.edu
    Path: pub/flee
    File: mdraw.el
     URL: ftp://ftp.cse.psu.edu/pub/flee/mdraw.el

   You can get Q-Edit at:

->  Host: oak.oakland.edu
    Path: /pub/msdos/qedit
     URL: ftp://oak.oakland.edu/pub/msdos/qedit

   You can get Emacs Code at:

->  Host: ftp.wwa.com
 Address: 198.49.174.1
    Path: pub/Scarecrow/Info
     URL: ftp://ftp.wwa.com/pub/Scarecrow/Info



  9  Where can I find ASCII art?

  You can FTP and Gopher ASCII art (single pics and archives of
dozens or hundreds of images).  FTP'ing is easy.  Gophering is
easier.  See Question 10 for further info.  ASCII art is available
from many sites, including:


o FTP Sites:

          Scarecrow's ASCII Art FTP
->  Host: ftp.wwa.com
 Address: 198.49.174.1
    Path: pub/Scarecrow
     URL: ftp://ftp.wwa.com/pub/Scarecrow
          Has Scarecrow's files, SAPs, animations, color, FAQs, Figlet,
          gray scale converters, 'how-to' files, and more.

          See Question 11 for a table of all the Scarecrow's files, showing
          file name, size (uncompressed), version, name it has at the
          Scarecrow's FTP site, and the subject line for email requests.

->  Host: mordor.ind.wpi.edu
    Path: pub/ascii/art/pictures
     URL: ftp://mordor.ind.wpi.edu/pub/ascii/art/pictures

          Jorn's FTP site
->  Host: ftp.mcs.com
    Path: mcsnet.users/jorn/ascii-art
     URL: ftp://ftp.mcs.com/mcsnet.users/jorn/ascii-art
          Has Scarecrow's files, plus other ASCII art files, and the
          technically oriented "asciitech.aa".

          Chris' FTP site
->  Host: ftp.ncsu.edu
    Path: pub/ncsu/chking/Archive
     URL: ftp://ftp.ncsu.edu/pub/ncsu/chking/Archive
          Contains all the Scarecrow's files, all of Steve Sullivan's
          files, and Gifscii for many systems.

->  Host: ftp.netcom.com
    Path: pub/vz/vzvz/asciiart
     URL: ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/vz/vzvz/asciiart

->  Host: tuda.newcastle.ac.uk
    Path: pub/local/n1ka0/animation
     URL: ftp://tuda.newcastle.ac.uk/pub/local/n1ka0/animation
          Animations

->  Host: mordor.ind.wpi.edu
    Path: pub/ascii/art/movies
     URL: ftp://mordor.ind.wpi.edu/pub/ascii/art/movies
          Animations

->  Host: ftp.uwp.edu
    Path: pub/msdos/demos/ansi
     URL: ftp://ftp.uwp.edu/pub/msdos/demos/ansi
          Color graphics


o Gopher Servers:

          ASCII Art Bazaar
->  Host: twinbrook.cis.uab.edu
   Items: 11, 1
          Over 12 megabytes, thousands of pieces in many categories.

          Scarecrow's ASCII Art Gopher
->  Host: gopher.wwa.com
   Items: 3
     URL: gopher://gopher.wwa.com/11/ascii
          Has Scarecrow's files, SAPs, animations, color, FAQs,
          Figlet, gray scale converters, 'how-to' files, and more.
          Everything the FTP site has is available from the Gopher,
          with friendlier menus.

          TTU Gopher
->  Host: gopher.cs.ttu.edu
   Items: 7, 1
     URL:
  gopher://gopher.cs.ttu.edu:70/11/Art%20and%20Images/ClipArt%20%28ASCII%29

          Stanford Gopher
->  Host: medmail.Stanford.EDU
   Items: 2, 1
     URL: gopher://medmail.Stanford.EDU/11/other.stuff/pictures/


o World Wide Web:

         Scarecrow's WWW Link
->  URL: http://miso.wwa.com/~boba/scarecrow.html
         Gateway to the wold of ASCII art, with links to everything.

         Chris' WWW Page
->  URL: http://www2.ncsu.edu/unity/users/c/chking/HTML/HTMLs/ascii.html

->  URL: ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/vz/vzvz/WWW/homepage.html


o Mailing list:

            ASCII Art listserv list
-> Address: listserv@ukcc.uky.edu
   Message: subscribe asciiart


o FTP Mail Servers:

-> Address: ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com
   Message: help

-> Address: ftpmail@sunsite.unc.edu
   Message: help

-> Address: bitftp@pucc.bitnet
   Message: help


  10  How do I use FTP, Gopher, World Wide Web, and FTP Mail Servers?

  The following instructions are for most Unix based, live InterNet
sites.  If you are not on a live wire, you can still access FTP
sites.  See the section below on 'How to use FTP Mail Servers'.

  If you're on a commercial service, or other non-Unix based system,
ask your sysadmin or service representative for information on
obtaining files.  If you are using InterNet software on your own
computer via a PPP or SLIP connection, I assume you don't need my
instructions.


  How to read a URL (Uniform Resource Locator):

           ftp://ftp.ncsu.edu/pub/ncsu/chking/Archive/Funnies
           |_|   |__________| |_____________________| |_____|
            |          |                 |               |
  Connect Method   Host Name        Folder Path      File Name

  Note: The connect method (the protocol> could also be "gopher" or
"http" (http indicates a WWW page).  Also, a URL my not have a file
name at the end, but may just point to a folder.  It may not even
have a folder path, pointing only to a site.

  WWW URLs usually end with a file having a ".html" extension.  And
Web pages can also be stored on, and accessed from, FTP and Gopher
sites.


  How to FTP:

  If you have FTP at your site, and you want to FTP over to say,
Chris King's FTP site, you would, at the prompt:

o Type: ftp ftp.ncsu.edu

  Notice that "ftp" was typed twice.  The first is the command, the
  second is a port of the address.  If you're already at an FTP
  prompt:

  Type: open ftp.ncsu.edu

o When the connection opens, it'll ask for your name.  This is
  'anonymous FTP' so:

  Type: anonymous

o When you're asked for a password:

  Type: Your email address

  You should be in.

o Now, to 'Change Directory' to Chris' ASCII art folder:

  Type: cd pub/ncsu/chking/Archive

o Now to list the folder's contents:

  Type: ls

o Let's say you want a file called "Funnies", you would:

  Type: get Funnies

  The file will be transfered to the host you FTP'd from, in the folder
  you were in when you started that FTP session.

o When you're done:

  Type: bye

  It will say goodbye and quit.

  You may have to decompress or uudecode the file first.  See
Question 20 on how to do that.  Now you can view or download the
file from your host.  For how to view animations and color pics, see
Question 21.

  Two helpful things.  Type "cd .." to go back out of a folder.
Type "pwd" ('Print Working Directory') to see where you are.


  How to Gopher:

  Gopher is easy.  Say you want to check out the Bazaar.  You would:

o Type: gopher twinbrook.cis.uab.edu

o Use the up and down arrow keys or number keys to pick the menu
  item you want.

o Use the right arrow (or return key) to enter a selection, and the
  left arrow to back out.

o In this case we pick "The Continuum", which is #11, and press the
  right arrow or return.

o After we enter The Continuum, we see the ASCII Art Bazaar, so we
  pick it (it's #1) and press the right arrow or return.

  Once in the Bazaar, you can browse the menus and view the art on
screen without having to download anything just to see it.


  How to use the World Wide Web:

  Using the World Wide Web is as easy as Gopher.  For example, let's
say you want to check out the Scarecrow's WWW Link, you would do the
following on a live Net site using lynx:

o Type: lynx http://miso.wwa.com/~boba/scarecrow.html

o Use the up and down arrow keys to select what you want to see.

o Use the right arrow (or return key) to enter a selection, and the
  left arrow to back out.

  You can do as with Gopher, but you can also access links to FTP,
Gopher and WWW sites.  For example, there are links that will take
you to Chris King's Web archive of ASCII art, the Figlet server, the
Bazaar, Joshua Bell's Star Trek ASCII art site, and practically
everything in the ASCII art world.

  Important Note: You can use a Web browser to access FTP sites, to
avoid logging in, and commands.  For example, say you're using lynx,
and you want to go to the Scarecrow's FTP site, you would type, at
the prompt:

   lynx ftp://ftp.wwa.com/pub/Scarecrow

  As you can see, it's just "lynx" plus the URL for the site.  You
can do this with any FTP site, just type "lynx ftp://" plus the
address/path, and you in like Flynn.


  Note: When using FTP, Gopher, WWW, or other live Net services, try
to find files at sites that are close to you before accessing more
distant locations.  Also, try to use these services at off-peak
hours, to not slow down the official operations of a school or
business.  And send a thank you note to the admins of sites you have
used and benefitted from.


  How to use FTP Mail Servers:

  If you don't have FTP access, you can use an FTP Mail Server.
There are a few listed in the answer to Question 9.  To use them
send a message to any of the listed addresses with "help" as the
message.  Here is an example of how to use ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com:

o Address a message to: ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com

o Leave the subject blank.

  In the message:

o Type: connect ftp.wwa.com

  The hostname could be any available host.

o Type: chdir pub/Scarecrow

  Changes directory (folder) to the Scarecrow's ASCII art folder.
  The folder name could be any existing folder.

o Type: binary

  For programs and compressed files.

          OR

  Type: ascii

  For text files, uuencoded files, etc.

o Type: get MORE

  Transfers the flie called "MORE" to your computer.  The name could
  be the name of any existing file in that folder.

o Type: quit

o Send the email message


   Your message will be acknowledged.  It will be given a number
which you should save in case of a problem.  Within a day or two you
should recieve either a file or an error message.  If you get an
error, make sure the following are correct: host name, pathname,
filename, commands, cAsE.



  11   What does the Scarecrow recommend?

  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 get the Best of
  the Scarecrow's ASCII Art Archive, and the ASCII Art Reference
  file.  And select a number of files from Steve Sullivan's Small
  ASCII Pics.

o If you have some disk space to spare, you should get all of the
  SAAAs, and the ASCII Art Resources file.  You can also get all of
  Steve's Small ASCII Pics.  Megabytes of art. With the SAAAs, AAR,
  and SAPs, you'll be an ASCII art expert and collector, instantly!

  Disk space is often limited, so store ASCII art compressed (it
should compress 3:1).  View it when it's compressed by typing: "zcat
filename | more" for .Z and "gzcat filename | more" for .gz files.


  12  Is it OK to copy ASCII art?

  ASCII art that is posted is considered copyrighted by the poster.
But since the post goes around the world, and copyright laws vary,
you'd have trouble enforcing it in some places.  The correct thing
to do is ask permission before using a piece.


  13  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.  Figlet stands for Frank,
Ian and Glenn's LETters.                                      ^
^       ^       ^^^
  Figlet is available for use on some host systems.  If it is not,
you can obtain Figlet and fonts from the sites listed in Question
14.  There are about 100 fonts for use with Figlet.  Figlet fonts
have a .flf suffix.  Figlet is currently in version 2.1, available
for Unix, DOS, Amiga, and Atari ST.

  There are a number of examples of Figlet fonts in the ASCII Art
Resources and ASCII Art Reference (the Web version of the FAQ).
You'll also find info on Figlet utilities, methods of feeding Figlet
output to files, modifying Figlet output, and a vi macro.

  Some other hosts have a program called "Banner" which performs a
similar function.



  14  Where can I get Figlet?

  You can get Figlet, fonts, and utilities from:


o FTP Sites:

          Official Figlet Site
->  Host: ftp.nicoh.com
    Path: pub/figlet
     URL: ftp://ftp.nicoh.com/pub/figlet

          Scarecrow's FTP Site
->  Host: ftp.wwa.com
    Path: pub/Scarecrow/Figlet
     URL: ftp://ftp.wwa.com/pub/Scarecrow/Figlet
          Has Figlet, utilities, and all the fonts I've found.
          Also accessible through the Scarecrow's Gopher and WWW sites.
          If you have any Figlet fonts that are not on my site, please put
          them in my incoming FTP folder.  Thank you.

->  Host: ftp.netcom.com
    Path: pub/vz/vzvz/asciiart/fonts
     URL: ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/vz/vzvz/asciiart/fonts
          Fonts only.


o Figlet WWW Server:

   ->  URL: http://www.inf.utfsm.cl/cgi-bin/figlet


o Figlet Mail Server:

-> Address: figlet@ottime.chi.il.us
   Message: HELP


o Figlet WWW Home Page:

   ->  URL: http://math.uiuc.edu/~chappell/figlet


o Figlet Mailing List:

-> Address: listserv@vmd.cso.uiuc.edu
   Message: SUBSCRIBE FIGLET-L
            Receive fonts, update notes, and Figlet chat.  Run by Ian Chai.



  15   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 converter program.  There's
ASCGIF, Gifscii (with versions for many systems), ANSIrez,
"ansicv22", GIF2ANSI, and "gif2txt" for the PC.

  There's also the HyperCard stack called "asciipicter".  It allows
you to draw a picture, and convert it to ASCII art.  This is for the
Macintosh.

  These programs make an ASCII pic from any GIF (Graphics
Interchange Format) image (or image you can convert to a GIF).  Most
converters require the GIF to be in 87a format.  GIFs in 89a format,
must be converted to 87a format first.

  The exception to the GIF converters is a bitmap converter for
Windows called Pixel Characterizer (version 0.5) by Shi Y Chen.



 16  Where can I get Gray Scale converters?

  You can get Gifscii for many systems, and the source code from:


o FTP Sites:

          Chris' FTP site
->  Host: ftp.ncsu.edu
    Path: pub/ncsu/chking/Archive
     URL: ftp://ftp.ncsu.edu/pub/ncsu/chking

          Scarecrow's FTP Site
->  Host: ftp.wwa.com
    Path: pub/Scarecrow/Gifscii
     URL: ftp://ftp.wwa.com/pub/Scarecrow/Gifscii
          Also accessible through the Scarecrow's Gopher and WWW sites.

          Both Chris' and Scarcecrow's sites have Gifscii 2.2 for
          MSDOS, Unix (Sun), Macintosh, Amiga, Digital Alpha,
          Digital VAX, as well as the c-source code.  Scarecrow's
          site also has "ansicv22.zip", "ansirez1.zip", and
          "asciipicter.sit.hqx" (HyperCard stack).


  You can get ASCGIF from:

o FTP Sites:

->  Host: usc.edu
    Path: archive/usenet/sources/comp.sources.misc/volume30/ascgif
URL: ftp://usc.edu/archive/usenet/sources/comp.sources.misc/volume30/ascgif

          Scarecrow's FTP Site
->  Host: ftp.wwa.com
    Path: pub/Scarecrow/Misc
     URL: ftp://ftp.wwa.com/pub/Scarecrow/Misc
          Also accessible through the Scarecrow's Gopher and WWW sites.

->  Host: wuarchive.wustl.edu
    Path: usenet/comp.sources.misc/volume30/ascgif
    URL: ftp://wuarchive.wustl.edu/usenet/comp.sources.misc/volume30/ascgif


  You can get GIF2ANSI and "gif2txt" from:

o BBS Sites:

->   BBS: Exec-PC (414) 789-4210
    File: GIF2ANSI.ZIP, in the "Mahoney MS-DOS" file collection.

->   BBS: Aquila BBS (708) 820-8344]
    File: gif2txt.zip


   You can get the GDS GIF-JPEG to ANSI (for DOS) at:

o FTP Sites:

   ->  Host: ftp.netcom.com
       Path: pub/ph/photodex
       File: gds31d.zip
        URL: ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/ph/photodex/gds31d.zip

   ->  Host: oak.oakland.edu
       Path: SimTel/msdos/graphics
       File: gds31d.zip
        URL: ftp://oak.oakland.edu/SimTel/msdos/graphics/gds31d.zip


  17  How can I make better 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 ... 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 many 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, even distribution of tones.

o Keep it simple, like a face or close-up of an object.

o Avoid busy backgrounds.  With exceptions, avoid bright backgrounds.

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 9 to 11 out of 12.

o It helps to do touch-up work on the converted picture.
  Concentrate on the focal points and important areas of the
  picture.


  18  What do those filename extensions mean?

  A file may have some of the following elements in its name:


File name (a file may      Usually implies     "uu" or "uue" for uuencode,
have a different name ____   a color pic.   __ "xx" or "xxe" for xxencode.
after uudecoding).        |      |         |
                          |      |         |
                    filename.vt.ansi.tar.Z.uu
                               |        |  |
Usally implies animation. ___|        |  |__ For Unix Compress, may also
                                      |      be .gz, .zip, etc.  A .zip
Tape ARchive format may contain ______|      file may contain more than
more than one file.  Must be 'untarred'.     one file, must be 'unzipped'.


  For further information, on how to save, uncompress, untar, unzip,
and view files, see Questions 20 and 21.



  19  What is 'uuencoding'?

  Color graphics and animations must be processed to change the
control codes to regular printable ASCII characters before they can
be sent as text (which any information service can handle).  This
processing is called 'uuencoding'.

  The file is processed back again after it is received.  This is
called 'uudecoding'.  See Question 20 on how to save and 'uudecode'
a file, and Question 21 on how to view animations and color images.
A uuencoded file may look like:


permission mode _______       ______ file name to be given to decoded file
                       |     |
begin line ____ begin 644 filename
                M;2XN+BXN+R\N+B\O+BXN+BXN+R\N+B\O+BXO+RXO+RXN+B\ON+B\O+BXN
encoded data __ M"AM;-#LV2"`@("`@+R`@7`H;6S$[,3%("AM;,CLQ,4@@("`@<("\*&ULS
                `
end line ______ end



  20  How do I save, 'uudecode' and uncompress a file?

  Type the name of the file where I have "filename".  On a Unix
system, the process is usually as easy as:


  To save a file:


  In most newsreaders, you:

o Type: s filename (or a full pathname)


  In Elm:

o Type: s

  You'll get a "save file to" prompt.

o Type: filename (or a full pathname)

  In Pine:

o Type: s

  You'll be asked for a folder name.  Pine's 'folder' is a text file.

o Type: filename (or a full pathname)


  To uudecode a file:

o Type: uudecode filename

  This may change the resulting file's name.


  To uncompress a file:


  For a .Z (Unix compress) file:

o Type: uncompress filename

  For a .gz (GZip) file:

o Type: gunzip filename


  Sometimes a number of files will come packed together in a .zip or
.tar file.  You need to unzip or untar it.  You will end up with a
number of files.

  For a .zip file:

o Type: unzip filename


  For a .tar file:

o Type: tar -xvf filename

  To just read the contents of a .tar file:

o Type: tar -tvf filename


o On a DOS machine, to uncompress a .Z file, you'll need comp430d from:

->  Host: oak.oakland.edu
    Path: pub/msdos/compress
    File: comp430d.zip
     URL: ftp://oak.oakland.edu/pub/msdos/compress/comp430d.zip


  To uuencode a file, use the following syntax at the prompt:


     The uuencode    The file you        Writes resulting uuencoded
         command.    want to uuencode.   file to the last filename.
               |           |              |
               uuencode filename filename > filename
                                    |          |
Name to be put on the 'begin' line of the    Name of the file that will be
resulting uuencoded file.  This name will    written to disk so as to not
be given to the file when it is uudecoded.   overwrite the original file.


  To compress a file:

  For Unix compress:

o Type: compress filename

  For Gzip:

o Type: gzip filename


  To zip compress a number of files into one .zip file, use the following
syntax at the prompt:

        zip filename.zip filename1 filename2 filename3
         |        |             |______|______|
    Command.   Name for file.   Files to be zipped, can be any number.


  For info on viewing animations and color images, see Question 21.



  21  How do I view animations and color images?

  Type the name of the file where I have "filename".  On a Unix
system, the process is usually as easy as:


  To view an animation or color pic:

o Type: cat filename

  You can view a compressed file without decompressing it.

  To view a .Z compressed file:

o Type: zcat filename

  To view a .gz compressed file:

o Type: gzcat filename


  To slow down an animation:

o Type: cat -u filename

  Note: Host system speed, terminal speed, and modem speed all
affect animation speed.  To view color, you need a color screen and
ANSI color capable software.

  See ASCII Art Resources and ASCII Art Reference (the Web version
of the FAQ) for info on programs to slow animations, and how to view
animations that you have downloaded to your PC or Amiga.



  22  How do I put an animation in my plan?

  On most Unix systems:

o Name the file you want to be used as: .plan

o Put it in the top level of your home folder.

o Make your home folder 'world readable' by typing: chmod 711 .

o Make your plan world readable by typing: chmod 644 .plan

  It does not work with all finger commands.  Many systems will
munch anything except CR and LF.  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.



  23  How do I make a sig?

  There are no rules for making sigs.  Most sigs contain items like:

o Name, nickname.
o Email and mail addresses.
o ASCII art pics, borders.
o Work and school names, disclaimer.
o Phone, fax, and pager numbers, PINs.
o Quotes and jokes from the poster and other people.
o Info about the poster's .plan, FTP site, WWW home page, PGP key.

  You might simply 'Figletize' your name, pop in your addy and a
pic, and presto, instant sig:


       |     'Go Johnny Go'       ||      ___|    johnsmith@foo.bar.edu
       |         |                ||     /                  _)  |    |
       |   _     __     __       \||/     __      __ `__     |  __|  __
   \   |  (   |  |   |  |   |    /()\          |  |   |   |  |  |    |   |
   ___/   ___/  _|  _| _|  _|    \__/    _____/  _|  _|  _| _|  __| _|  _|


  If you're going to have your sig automatically included in your
posts and email, remember that some systems only allow up to 4 lines
in the sig.  For info on how to have your sig automatically
included, see Question 24.

  If you want to use a larger sig on systems that only allow 4
lines, you will have to insert it manually.  On most Unix based
systems, using pico editor, press control-r when you want to insert
the sig, and then type the name (or full pathname) of the file to be
inserted, using vi, ex, ed, the command is ":r <filename>", using
emacs, it's control-x control-r <filename>.

  Speaking of sig length, there is a rule of thumb of 4 to 6 lines.
Try to keep sigs around this length for posts, reserving the long
ones for email, and post to the ASCII art groups.



  24  How do I have my sig automatically added to my posts and email?

  On a Unix system, the process is usually as easy as:

  For posts:

  If you are using most newsreaders:

o Name the file you want to be used as ".signature"

o 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.

  If you are using tin:

o Make a folder in the top level of your home folder called ".Sig".

o Fill it with sigs.

  The files in that folder will be used randomly by tin when
  selecting a sig for your post.  You can call the folder something
  other than ".Sig", but you must change the 'signature path' line
  in your tinrc in your .tin folder.

  To have a file included above your random sig:

o Make a file in the top level of your home folder called ".sigfixed".


  For email:

o Name the file you want to be used as ".signature"

o 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:


  If you're using Elm for your email, and elm doesn't pick up your sig:

o You need to put the following in ypur elmrc:

  localsignature = ~/.signature
  remotesignature = ~/.signature

  If you don't have an elmrc yet:

o Open Elm

o Press the 'o' key to get to the options screen.

o Press the '>' to save your configuration.

o Press 'i' to go back to the index.

o Quit.

  This will create the elmrc file in the .elm folder.


  If you're using Pine (with Pico) for your email:

o Place the following in your .pinerc file:

  signature-file=~/.signature


  If you're using vm (in emacs) for your email:

o Place the following in your .emacs file:

  (setq mail-signature t)


  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.



  25  What should I know about posting ASCII Art?

  You can post any of the following types of ASCII art to
rec.arts.ascii or alt.ascii-art or alt.binaries.pictures.ascii
groups:

o All forms of ASCII art including:
  - Standard ASCII art (line pics, 3-D, oversize printer art, GIFs, etc).
  - Non-standard ASCII art (animations, color pics, color animations).
o Discussion about pieces of art.
o Requests for specific pieces of art, and their fulfillment.
o Questions and answers covering:
  - Creating and viewing ASCII art.
  - Locating FTP sites for ASCII art and related files.
o Dicussion about artists in the field.

  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.
Animation - Animation.  Usually uuencoded.
    Color - ANSI Color image.  Usually uuencoded.
      3-D - Three dimensional art.
     Font - Alphabets and Figlet fonts.
   Binary - Binaries (software like Figlet and Gifscii). Usually uuencoded.
      Big - Wider than 80 columns and-or longer than 24 lines).

   Repost - Repost of a previously posted pic, not new art.
  Request - Request for a picture, Figletized name, sig, etc.

     Talk - General discussion, no pics included.
 Question - A question concerning any of the ASCII art topics.
   Answer - An answer to a question asked by a poster.
     Info - Web URLs, email addresses, Gopher and FTP sites, font lists,etc
 Announce - Announcements of events, new sites, Web pagse, etc.

      FAQ - Used for the weekly posting of Frequently Asked Questions

  If you are following up a post, please change the Subject ID to
reflect the contents of the post.  This way if you are fulfilling a
request, change:

  Request: Marilyn Monroe
    TO
  GIF: Marilyn Monroe

  This allows readers the option of reading the group in a
newsreader's selector, sorted by articles.  They can then read only
what is of interest to them, trusting the IDs to accurately identify
the contents.  Some people do not have the time (or money if they
are paying by the hour or byte) to read everything in every group
they like.


  Here are some guidelines:


  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.


  When following up an article:

o Read all the articles in a thread before posting.  Most
  newsreaders will let you re-read news you've already seen.

o Decide whether it's better to post or email your message.

o Check the attributions.

o Try to keep quoted materials to a minimum.

o Summarize where possible.

o Change the Subject ID.


  Most general 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 disagree with someone, disagree with their words, don't
flame them.

o Ask permission before quoting somebody's email message.

o Type your post in upper-and-lower case.  ALL UPPER CASE IS HARD TO READ.

o Cross-post an article instead of posting it separately to many
  newsgroups.  You cross-post by adding group names to the
  "Newsgroups:" line in the header (if you are using the editor in a
  newsreader).  Or by typing names when prompted in "Pnews".

  When you cross-post, only one copy is sent around.  And only one
  copy is kept on each machine.  And as a reader, you only see the
  cross-posted article once, no matter how many groups it was cross-
  posted to.


  If you're a new reader:

o Read the ASCII groups for a week or two to familiarize yourself
  with them before posting.


  If you're a new user:

o Familiarize yourself with newsgroups, their customs, terminology
  and abbreviations.  Check out the guidelines, posted in the
  newsgroups news.announce.newusers and news.newusers.questions.

  One exception to the usual rules is the use of sigs.  Because the
groups rec.arts.ascii, alt.ascii-art and alt.binaries.pictures.ascii
are about ASCII art, it is within the scope of these groups to post
longer sigs.


  Be an Art Detective.

  Let's say you're reading another group, say, rec.nonsense, and
while reading the posts, you see a pic or sig.  You would like an
easy way to show it to us on rec.arts.ascii, without saving it,
quiting from rec.nonsense, going to rec.arts.ascii, starting a post,
inserting the pic or sig, quiting your newsreader, deleting it, etc.

  It's easy to be an Art Detective.  While in the original newsgroup:

o Follow-up the article, making sure it is quoted.

o Replace any newsgroups named in the "Newsgroups:" with "rec.arts.ascii".

o Delete all extraneous materials from the post, leaving the pic or sig.

o Add any commentary you think appropriate.

o Send it.



  26  Where is this FAQ available?

  Tha FAQ is available from newsgroups, FTP, Gopher, WWW, finger:


o Newsgroups:

     rec.arts.ascii,
     alt.ascii-art, alt.binaries.pictures.ascii, alt.ascii-art.animation
     comp.graphics, news.answers, alt.answers, rec.answers, comp.answers


o FTP Sites:

->  Host: ftp.wwa.com
    Path: pub/Scarecrow
    File: FAQ
     URL: ftp://ftp.wwa.com/pub/Scarecrow/FAQ

->  Host: rtfm.mit.edu
    Path: pub/usenet-by-group/rec.arts.ascii
    File: FAQ_-_ASCII_Art_Questions_&_Answers_(*.*_-_*_K)
     URL: ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet-by-group/rec.arts.ascii

->  Host: src.doc.ic.ac.uk
    Path: pub/usenet/news.answers/rec.arts.ascii
    File: FAQ_-_ASCII_Art_Questions_&_Answers_(*.*_-_*_K)
     URL: ftp://src.doc.ic.ac.uk/pub/usenet/news.answers/rec.arts.ascii


o Gopher Servers:

->  Hast: gopher.wwa.com
   Items: 3, 3

->  Hast: jupiter.sun.csd.unb.ca
   Items: 10, 12, 1

->  Host: cc1.kuleuven.ac.be
   Items: 3, 3, 858


o World Wide Web:

 ->  URL: http://miso.wwa.com/~boba/scarecrow.html
  Select: ASCII ART FAQ (this file)
  Select: ASCII Art Resources (text version with samples of everything)
  Select: ASCII Art Reference (Web version with links to everything)


o Finger by typing the following at a prompt on mony sites:

   finger asciifaq@wwa.com (turn on text capture first)
                                  OR
   finger asciifaq@wwa.com | more (you can read it a page at a time)
                                  OR
   finger asciifaq@wwa.com > faq (saves it to a file called 'faq')



  27  Who made this FAQ?

  It is made by your old friend, the Scarecrow.  Materials for the
ASCII ART FAQ, ASCII Art Resources and ASCII Art Reference (the Web
version of the FAQ) 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       | and ASCII Art Reference |
 MICHAEL A GODIN     |    for many examples.   |
 STEVEN M SULLIVAN    \__   __________________/
 LARS ARONSSON           | /
 CHRIS PIRILLO           |/
 CHEVALIER               /
 Q ALEX ZHAO
 DOV SHERMAN
  GREG GULIK
   A RICH
  C GROOM
 MATT RYAN
 FELIX LEE
 DAVE VRONA
 PAUL KLINE
 R L SAMUELL
 DANNI BAUER
 NICK RUSNOV
 DON BERTINO
 TODD D HALE
 JOHN PAYSON
 PAUL FAWCETT
 MATT MESSINA
 SUSIE OVIATT
 RICHARD KIRK
 SIMON BRADLEY
 PAUL FOERSTER
 RIC HOTCHKISS
 WINSTON SMITH
 O'NEIL PARKER
GLENN CHAPPELL
DANIEL HOLDREN
DAVID CONNELLY
OTTO J. MAKELA
JOEL ROTHSCHILD
BENJAMIN THOMAS
BRIAN DEVENDORF
EVAN M CORCORAN
MEINDERT DE JONG
MATT E THURSTON
CHRISTOPHER KING
JONATHAN PETERSON
RUDRIK GREYSHADOW


__________________________________________________________________________


    Version: 4.9.2
   Released: April 9, 1996


|| | | | | |  |  |  |   |   |    |      |    |   |   |  |  |  | | | | | ||
           END  O F   T  H   E     A   S  C  I  I   A  R T  FAQ
|| | | | | |  |  |  |   |   |    |      |    |   |   |  |  |  | | | | | ||

File: academy/faqs/faq_barger.txt
http://www.ascii-art.de/info/faq_barger.txt

From: cfbd@southern.co.nz (Colin Douthwaite)

============================================================================

            ASCII ART FAQ  by  Jorn Barger       11 December 1993

============================================================================


ASCII ART FAQ
by Jorn Barger

Purpose: to promote more creative use of the ASCII character set on
Internet, especially for _page layout_ and _animation_, and the
development and distribution of tools to facilitate this.

Justification: Ascii art will continue to be the appropriate,
populist technology for graphics on Internet, for some years to
come... so we might as well get good at it!  (There's still lots of
untapped potential...)

There's such a range of newsreading environments, that few of the
ideas offered here will work the same for everyone. If we want to do
this right, we need to get a sense of where these differences are
most serious.  (White-on-black displays vs b-on-w, for one...)


******************
 Contents of FAQ:
******************

- Samples of page-layout and animation
- The ASCII character set: problems and potential
- The line-draw character palette
- Line-draw ascii fonts
- Esthetics: texture, gesture
- Greyscale character palettes
- ASCII anti-aliasing
- An 'asciify' algorithm for anti-aliasing pbm bitmaps, with sample

This last topic may have the most *practical* utility-- it should
allow archives of GIFs and JPEGs to offer compact catalogs of
thumbnails *in the form of simple text files*.

Thruout the faq, I'll be raising questions about things I don't
know, that I'd like to be able to answer in future updates.
Feedback is *very* welcome.


Here's some samples of ascii page-layout:


              1 9 9 3

The central             |"|
bargraph shows >>>>>>>> |m| <    =---------
the total               |m| 1                  This rightmost bargraph,
number of      |"|      |m| <    .             turned sideways, shows
newsgroups,    | | <    |m| 2    .             the *distribution* of daily
log 10         | | 9    |m| <    .             volume for all newsgroups.
(groups_total) | | <    |m| 3    ]             (msgs_per_group)
(~5000)        | | <    |m| <    ]
               |m| 6    | | 4    ]]            Here, most newsgroups are
        >>>>>  |m| <    | | <    ]]            still way under 100 msgs
This leftmost  |m| <    | | 5    ]]]]          per day.  One group in ten
bargraph is    |m| 3    | | <    ]]]]]]]       tops this level.
a logarithmic  |m| <    | | 6    =---------
display of     |m| <    |_|      0  100  200
total Usenet   |m| 0            msgs/day/group
readership,    |_|
(subs_total)           5000 groups
(~1,000,000)  1 million readers



 1 9 8 8                    1 9 9 3                 1 9 9 8: the nightmare?
(wild guesses)
      |"|                       |"|                       |"|
      |m| <  =---------         |m| <  =---------         |m| < =---------
      |m| 1                     |m| 1                     |m| 1 ]
|"|   |m| <               |"|   |m| <  .            |"|   |m| < ]]
| | < |m| 2               | | < |m| 2  .            | | < |m| 2 ]]
| | 9 |m| <  .            | | 9 |m| <  .            | | 9 |m| < ]]
| | < | | 3  .            | | < |m| 3  ]            |m| < |m| 3 ]]
| | < | | <  .            | | < |m| <  ]            |m| < |m| < ]]]
| | 6 | | 4  ]            |m| 6 | | 4  ]]           |m| 6 |m| 4 ]]]]
| | < | | <  ]            |m| < | | <  ]]           |m| < |m| < ]]]]]]
|m| < | | 5  ]]           |m| < | | 5  ]]]]         |m| < | | 5 ]]]]]]]]
|m| 3 | | <  ]]]]         |m| 3 | | <  ]]]]]]]      |m| 3 | | < ]]]]]]]]]
|m| < | | 6  =---------   |m| < | | 6  =---------   |m| < | | 6 =---------
|m| < |_|    0  100  200  |m| < |_|    0  100  200  |m| < |_|   0  100  200
|m| 0      msgs/day/group |m| 0                     |m| 0
|_|                       |_|                       |_|
     500 groups               5000 groups                50,000 groups???
100,000 readers           1 million readers         100 million readers


Current editors/ word processors assume that you want your text
elements to hug the left margin, effectively a 'sideways gravity'
that must be carefully counteracted.  It's easy to screw up (which
the warlorders call 'tabdamage').  If your wp offers typeover-mode,
that's likely to work better than insert-mode, for preventing
tabdamage.

Here's a primitive animation (that also illustrates the use of
lineweight to simulate depth).  The protagonist is just a circle
with a heavy ascii lineweight, abstractly representing a character
named Joy Hoy:

            _+m"m+_
           Jp     qh
           O       O
           Yb     dY
            "Y5m2Y"

The faster your modem, the nicer this works:


==========================================================================
                       .
                       ::
                       :: .. :
                  .  .::::.: ::
               -  :. :':::::.::::           /-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/
              |   :':'::.::::::.:         - .   ,       .      .     .
              |  \- - :''::':':::  ... _/  |  .  .   <^o^o^^o^>   .     .
              |   ]   \- -::'::'::.::/     |  .    <^o^^o^^o^^o^>     ,
              |       : ..\:::':'::/       | . .  <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> .
              |   ]   : .. _ -=_           |    ,  H.:. /.../..:H   .   .
              |   ]   : ./       \         | . . . I://.//./ /::I      ,
              |   ]   :/           \       | .     H:.: /.//...:H ..
              |   ]  / /           \ \     |    :. I.:/.//.//..:I  .:   .
  _+m"m+_     |   ]/  /               \    | .  ,  H:../// /./::H  . ..
 Jp     qh    |  /                  \   \  | ., .  I./:/../// .:I  ,  . ,
 O       O ___|/     /               \    \|____;__H:. ////:/./:H_________
 Yb     dY
  "Y5m2Y"           /
__________________  /                                           __________
    _______"_____                        =======_=======_===_===__________
==========================================================================

==========================================================================
                       .
                       ::
                       :: .. :
                  .  .::::.: ::
               -  :. :':::::.::::           /-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/
              |   :':'::.::::::.:         - .   ,       .      .     .
              |  \- - :''::':':::  ... _/  |  .  .   <^o^o^^o^>   .     .
              |   ]   \- -::'::'::.::/     |  .    <^o^^o^^o^^o^>     ,
              |       : ..\:::':'::/       | . .  <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> .
              |   ]   : .. _ -=_           |    ,  H.:.//... ..:H   .   .
              |   ]   : ./       \         | . . . I://.//. //::I      ,
              |   ]   :/           \       | .     H:.://.//...:H ..
                  ]  / /           \ \     |    :. I.:/./ .//..:I  .:   .
           _+m"m+_ /  /               \    | .  ,  H:../////./::H  . ..
          Jp     qh        J888888888888h  | ., .  I./:/../ //.:I  ,  . ,
   ______ O       O  /    88 \\\  \ \ \ 88 |____;__H:.// //:/./:H_________
          Yb     dY      88 \\\\\\ \\\ \ 88
           "Y5m2Y"  /    8 \\\\\\\\\\ \\  8
 _________________  /   J888888888888888888h                   __________
    ______"______      8OO8XX [YBNNDY] XX8OO8 ==_======_====_===__________
==========================================================================

==========================================================================
                       .
                       ::
                       :: .. :
                  .  .::::.: ::
               -  :. :':::::.::::           /-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/
              |   :':'::.::::::.:         - .   ,       .      .     .
              |  \- - :''::':':::  ... _/  |  .  .   <^o^o^^o^>   .     .
              |   ]   \- -::'::'::.::/     |  .    <^o^^o^^o^^o^>     ,
              |       : ..\:::':'::/       | . .  <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> .
              |   ]   : .. _ -=_           |    ,  H.:.//.../..:H   .   .
              |   ]   : ./       \         | . . . I: /.//.// ::I      ,
              |   ]   :/      [==] \       | .     H:.://.//...:H ..
              |   ]  / /     [d==b]\ \     |    :. I.:/.//.//..:I  .:   .
              |   ]/  /       "  "    \    | .  ,  H:.. ////./::H  . ..
              |  /       _+m"m+_    \   \  | ., .  I./:/..////.:I  ,  . ,
    __________|/     /  Jp     qh    \    \|____;__H:./ ///:/./:H_________
                        O       O
                    /   Yb     dY
 _________________  /    "Y5m2Y"                                __________
    _______"_____                        =======_=====_=====_===__________
==========================================================================

==========================================================================
                       .
                       ::
                       :: .. :
                  .  .::::.: ::
               -  :. :':::::.::::           /-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/
              |   :':'::.::::::.:         - .   ,       .      .     .
              |  \- - :''::':':::  ... _/  |  .  .   <^o^o^^o^>   .    .
              |   ]   \- -::'::'::.::/     |  .    <^o^^o^^o^^o^>     ,
              |       : ..\:::':'::/       | . .  <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> .
              |   ]   : .. _ -=_           |    ,  H.:.//.../..:H   .   .
              |   ]   : ./    w  \         | . . . I://. /.///::I      ,
              |   ]   :/           \       | .     H:.://.//...:H ..
              |   ]  / /           \ \     |    :. I.:/.//./ ..:I  .:  .
              |   ]/  /               \    ' .  ,  H:../ ///./::H  . ..
              |  /                  \   _+m"m+_ .  I./:/..////.:I  ,  . ,
    __________|/     /                 Jp     qh __H:./// /:/./:H_________
                                       O       O
                    /                  Yb     dY
 _________________  /                   "Y5m2Y"                 __________
    _______"_____                         ___===_====_======_===__________
==========================================================================

==========================================================================
                       .
                       ::
                       :: .. :
                  .  .::::.: ::
               -  :. :':::::.::::           /-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/
              |   :':'::.::::::.:         - .   ,       .      .     .
              |  \- - :''::':':::  ... _/  |  .  .   <^o^o^^o^>   .     .
              |   ]   \- -::'::'::.::/     |  .    <^o^^o^^o^^o^>     ,
              |       : ..\:::':'::/       | . .  <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> .
              |   ]   : .. _ -=_           |    ,  H.:.//.../..:H   .   .
              |   ]   : ./       \         | . . . I:/ .//.// ::I      ,
              |   ]   :/           \       | .     H:.://.//...:H ..
              |   ]  / /           \ \     |    :. I.:/.//.//.. !  .:   .
              |   ]/  /               \    | .  ,  H:..///  _+m"m+_ . .
              |  /                  \   \  | ., .  I./:/.. Jp     qh  . ,
    __________|/     /               \    \|____;__H:./ // O       O  ____
                                                           Yb     dY
                    /                                       "Y5m2Y"
 _________________  /                                           __________
    _______"_____                        =======_===_=======_===__________
==========================================================================



*************************
 The ASCII character set
*************************

The American Standard Code for Information Interchange supplies a
character-assignment for each number from zero to 127 (7F in
hexadecimal).  As I understand it, Internet protocols are optimized
for this seven-bit range--if you're trying to ftp an eight-bit-wide
file, you have to specially request 'binary' transmission.  (So the
opposite of binary, here, is *ASCII*.)

Only the numbers from 32 to 126 (20 to 7E hex) are defined as
*printable* characters (the others are defined as control codes):

    0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
  =--------------------------------
2 |   ! " # $ % & ' ( ) * + , - . /  <- <- <- 20 hex is the
3 | 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 : ; < = > ?           blankspace
4 | @ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O
5 | P Q R S T U V W X Y Z [ \ ] ^ _
6 | ` a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o     7F is non-printing
7 | p q r s t u v w x y z { | } ~   <-  in the US ("rubout")

Unfortunately, this narrow standard ignored the needs of many other
cultures: the British 'pound' sign, letters with accents in French
and Scandinavian alphabets, etc., which led them to introduce slight
modifications to the standard, making the following symbols (at
least) non-universal:

   {^ `       { curly brace 1   ^ caret  ` backquote
    #| }       # hatch/hash mark   | pipe  } curly brace 2
     ~\         ~ tilde    \ backslash
    ]$[@      [square brackets]  $ dollarsign   @ at-sign

[The test-graphic is vaguely a woman with a rose in her teeth, on my
screen anyway...]

Furthermore, even within the US, different typefaces assign
significantly different shapes to some characters, for example:

"|" (C7)  is sometimes drawn as a continuous line, sometimes broken
in the middle.
                              ...@...     ...@...   (So this becomes a
"^" (5E) may be anything from ..@.@..  to ..@.@..   'Pinocchio' smiley:
                              .......     .@...@.        { ;^)
Similarly with "<" and ">".   .......     @.....@       (...doesn't it?))

Depending on your character set, any of these may be the blackest
black: @#%* (I'm often seeing people choosing "#", which on my
screen looks totally blotchy.)

Any of these may display at different heights: ~^*-=+

Lettershapes may have serifs or not, and ascenders and descenders
may be straight or curved. (Proportionally-spaced fonts, as opposed
to monospaced, are of course *hopeless*.  On the Mac, I favor Monaco
9, for its simplicity.  Courier is another normally-monospaced
family.)

Even monospaced fonts may display with different aspect ratios
(v:h), at least within GUIs, which can turn circles into ellipses
and squares into rectangles.  Different newsreaders may space the
lines differently, too, with the same outcome. (What was the IBM-
monochrome aspect-ratio?)

For Internet transmission, you can assume the display is 80
characters wide, although if you trim this a bit it will allow
images to be e-quoted without wrap-around. (If you use all 80, can
the CR cause wraparound in some pagers?)

Normal screen height is 24 or 25 lines, but when you're laying out a
page you should assume you'll use a control-L before and after each
screenful of text, to maintain the alignment, and this turns out to
limit the height to 22 lines.



*********************************************
 Line-draw vs. greyscale character palettes
*********************************************

Most ascii art so far has leaned almost entirely on less than twenty
of the available characters-- what might be called the 'line-draw'
character palette:

           / \ | - _ =
           . : ' ` " ~
           < > ( ) [ ]

Here's a cute example of the potential of this palette, a pastiche
that re-combines an incredibly cool self-portrait by Jonggu Moon and
a state-of-the-art dragon (off rec.games.mud, I think, but I got it
2ndhand and missed the credit).  Notice, though, how the lines are
mostly the same weight, creating a flatness:

                                      _   __,----'~~~~~~~~~`-----.__
                                   .  .    `//====-_             ___,-' `
                   -.            \_|// .   /||\\  `~~~~`---.___./
             ______-==.       _-~o~  \/    |||  \\           _,'`
       __,--'   ,=='||\=_    ;_--~/_-'|-   |`\   \\        ,'
    _-'        '    |  \\`.   '-'~7  /-   /  ||   `\.     /
  .'    //// ||     |   \\ \_    /  /-   /   ||      \   /
 / ____  O-O--=     |     \\.`-_/  /|- _/   ,||       \ /
,-'     ( ^ _/\_ --_ \     `==-/  `| \'--===-'       _/`
        /\~-\/  \   `-|      /|    )-'\~'      _,--~'
       /|`/ _ \_ \    '-~~\_/ |    |   `\_   ,~             /\
      / | : U_/  /         /  \     \__   \/~               `\__
      \(__:__ \_/      _,-' _/'\ ,-'~____-'`-/                 ``===\
        =@=====       ((->/'    \|||' `.     ~`-/ ,                _||
       |       |                 \_     ~\      `^---|__i__i__\--~'_/
      /   |   |                 __-^-_    `)  \-.______________,-~'
     /   /|   |                //,-'~~`__--^-  |-------~~~~~'
     |  | |  |                        //,--~~`-\
     |__| |__|
     /#_)  |#\


Tools for pasting clip-art *with appropriate 'hidden-line removal'*
do not exist, so one must settle, for now, for a word processor with
rectangular cut and paste. (Nisus on the Mac, MS Word in recent
upgrades?)

The animation sample at the beginning of this FAQ uses mostly
linedraw, but also a bit of greyscale in the foreground (darker
lineweight) and in the far-background (lighter weight).  *Greyscale
ascii art normally assumes you're displaying dark letters on a light
background*.  This won't be true for many pc-monochrome monitors.

(Here's a page, again.  Notice also how a degree of 'random noise'
adds to the sense of realism, like avoiding using too-straight lines
or too-symmetrical shapes.)


==========================================================================
                       .
                       ::
                       :: .. :
                  .  .::::.: ::
               -  :. :':::::.::::           /-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/
              |   :':'::.::::::.:         - .   ,       .      .     .
              |  \- - :''::':':::  ... _/  |  .  .   <^o^o^^o^>   .     .
              |   ]   \- -::'::'::.::/     |  .    <^o^^o^^o^^o^>     ,
              |       : ..\:::':'::/       | . .  <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> .
              |   ]   : .. _ -=_           |    ,  H.:.//... ..:H   .   .
              |   ]   : ./       \         | . . . I://.//. //::I      ,
              |   ]   :/           \       | .     H:.://.//...:H ..
                  ]  / /           \ \     |    :. I.:/./ .//..:I  .:   .
           _+m"m+_ /  /               \    | .  ,  H:../////./::H  . ..
          Jp     qh        J888888888888h  | ., .  I./:/../ //.:I  ,  . ,
   ______ O       O  /    88 \\\  \ \ \ 88 |____;__H:.// //:/./:H_________
          Yb     dY      88 \\\\\\ \\\ \ 88
           "Y5m2Y"  /    8 \\\\\\\\\\ \\  8
 _________________  /   J888888888888888888h                    __________
    ______"______      8OO8XX [YBNNDY] XX8OO8 ==_======_====_===__________
==========================================================================



************************
 ASCII fonts (linedraw)
************************

Here's some ascii fonts that use only the linedraw palette.  (I'd
like to collect full alphabets for these.)  Notice that they all use
the underscore for the topline of the letters, so an almost-full
line of blank must be left above them:
 ___  _           _  _             _       _____
|   || |_  ___  _| ||_| ___  __  _| |_    /  ___\  ___  __ ___   ___
| | ||  .\/ ._\/.  || |/ ._\|  \|_   _|   | / __  / _ \ | /   \ / _ \
|___||___/\___/\___||_|\___/|_|_| |_|     | \_\ \ | __/ |  /\ | | __/
                                          \_____/ \___/ |_| |_| \___/
 _  __  __      __  _     __   ___  __  __  ___  _  _
| |/ / / _|    / _|| |   /  \ | __|/ _|/ _|| __|| \| |
|   ( ( (_    ( (_ | |_ | __ || __|\_ \\_ \| __||    |
|_|\_\ \__| [] \__||___||_||_||___||__/|__/|___||_|\_|
  ___  __ __  ___  ____   ___    ____ _____  ___  _____  ___  ____
 /   \|  |  |/   \|    \ /   \  / ___|  ___|/   \|_   _|/   \|    |
| =+= | =+= | =+= | =+= | =+= | \__ \|  ___| +=+ | | | | +=+ | +=+
 \___/|__|__|__|__|__|\_\__|__| |___/|_____|__|__| |_| |__|__|____|

                             /\
  ___/\___      ___   __  __(__) __  _______
_/  __/\  \/\  /   \ |  |/  ___\/  \/   ___/
\___ \_/     \/ _/\ \| _/  /|  |    \  / ____
_/  | \   \/  \ \_/  / \_  \|  |  |  \ \/  _/
\  ___/\__||   \____/|  |\__/__|__|   \_   |
 \/        |____/    |__|         |____/|__| /\
                                    ___     (__)_____________  ___________
                                    \  \/\  |  |____  \____  \/   \_____  \
                                   _/     \ |  | _|/  / _|/  / _/\ \__|/  /
                                   \   \/  \|  | \_   \_\_   \_\_/  /\_   \_
                                    \__||   |__|  |\___/ |\___/____/  |\___/
                                        |____/ |__|   |__|         |__|

Here's an especially readable box font (in tumbling-dice mode):
       __     ____         __   ____         __   __
      /\ \   /  \_\       / /\ /  \ \       / |\ / /\
     /  \_\ / /\ |_|     / / /| /\ \ \     /  ||/ / /
    / /\ | |\ \/ /_/_   / / / \ \/  \ \   /   |/ / /
   /  \/ |_| \  __ \_\ /_/ /   \  /\ \_\ / /|   / /
  / /\ ./_/   \ \ \/_/_\_\/     \ \ \/_// / |  / /
  \ \/ |_|     \ \_\ /_/\        \ \_\ /_/ /|_/ /
   \__/_/       \/_/ \_\/         \/_/ \_\/ \_\/

And an impressively tiny one:
  ________    ________
 / /_  __/\  /\ \__  _\
/___/_/_/\/  \ \___\_\_\
\___\_\_\/    \/___/_/_/

Warlorders call most ascii fonts "BUAFs", for butt-ugly ascii font.
(buaG substitutes G-for-graphic.)  I'm on the lookout for fonts that
might pass for butt-beautiful, and I'll settle for butt-bearable...
:^)  Here's my new favorite (anybody know Jules?):

     _|  _|  _|  _|     _|_|_   _|_|_
     _|  _|  _|  _|     _| |/   \|_
 _|  _|  _|  _|  _|     _|/         \|
 \|_|_/  \|_|_/  _|_|_| \|_|_|  \|_|_/

For page-layout, the linedraw palette is useful for making boxes and
frames, which adds to a screen's 'page-appeal' in the same way a
picture-frame sharpens the look of a wall-poster.



*********************
 Texture and gesture
*********************

I experienced a personal ascii-art epiphany last winter, on seeing a
few signatures where people used this: _/ as a tile, which provides
an amazing sense of *texture*:

            _/
         _/  _/
      _/  _/  _/


Another (flatter) sort of
       texture:                    The same, randomized:

    *::*::*::*::*::*::*::*        ::*:::::***:::::::::::
    *::*::*::*::*::*::*::*        :::::::**::::::*::::*:
    *::*::*::*::*::*::*::*        :*::*:*::*::::*::::*::
    *::*::*::*::*::*::*::*        :::*::::::*::*:*::::::
    *::*::*::*::*::*::*::*        ::*:*::::*:*::::::::::
    *::*::*::*::*::*::*::*        ::::::*:*::::*::::::::
    *::*::*::*::*::*::*::*        *::::::::**:::::::::**
    *::*::*::*::*::*::*::*        ::::*::::::*:::::*::::

If your wp's macro-language includes a random-number function, you
can generate textures by writing a 'Spatter' macro that fills a
rectangle with the letters of any string, randomly scattered.


                      _/ _/
                      _/  _/
                   _/      _/
                  _/        _/
                _/          _/            _/ _/
             _/         _/ _/           _/      _/
                       _/               _/       _/
                      _/              _/_/       _/     _/
                      _/                         _/     _/
As far as I know,      _/                        _/    _/
the first appli-             _/  _/ _/ _/     _/ _/   _/
cation to allow            _/ _/        _/ _/_/_/    _/
the use of a mouse      _/            _/             _/
to draw ascii         _/            _/_/ _/        _/
*gesturally* will    _/              _/     _/   _/_/
be Matt Mora's       _/              _/      _/  _/
AsciiPaint (for Mac), _/            _/
now in beta. (Watch    _/
for announcements.)    _/_/
It made this easy:         _/ _/ _/




*****************
 ASCII greyscale
*****************

ASCII art has its roots in the technology of *mosaics*.  Most
mosaics use small elements with a single, solid colorshade.  By this
standard, ASCII offers 95 shades of grey!  (When I was small, a
design firm in my town built a hi-tech mosaic mural for the Wright
Brothers museum in Dayton, Ohio, a wall-sized version of that
classic b&w photo of their first flight, built out of inch-square
tiles in about eight shades of grey-- only instead of solid greys,
they used (fractally) tiny black-and-white 'icons', which
represented other scenes from the Wrights' career, covering a scale
from very light to very dark...)

Here's an approximate, partial greyscale ascii palette (still
assuming white background):

      .'`,^:";~
     -_+<>i!lI?
     /\|()1{}[]   (I'm looking for feedback about where this doesn't work,
     rcvunxzjft   for non-Mac-Monaco displays.)
     LCJUYXZO0Q
     oahkbdpqwm
     *WMB8&%$#@

(If an eighth bit were available to toggle the background color
between black and white... would this help a lot?)

Of course, more than eight shades of grey is probably overkill, not
least because the lettershapes contribute so much distracting
'noise' that fewer is probably better.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@J............@@@@@@JJJJJJ@@@@@@@@@@
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@J.................@@JJJJ@@@@JJ@@@@
@@@@@@..@@@@@@@@@@@@@JJJ...........@@@@@@@@@@@@@@JJ@@@@
@@@@@@J.JJJJ@@@J@@@@@@@@J........@@.JJJ..@@@@JJJ.JJJJ@@  The more you
@@@@..JJ....@@JJ@@@@@@@@J........@@.J..JJ@@@@@@J...JJ@@  squint, the better
@@@@JJ....J.J.....J.@@@@...........JJJ.JJ..........JJ@@  this looks!
@@@@JJ....J.J.....J.@@@@............JJJ............JJ@@  Notice that it
@@JJJJ..J..........J@@@@...............JJJJ........JJ@@  uses only three
@@JJJJ..J..........J@@@@..................J........JJ@@  greys (or a
@@JJJ..............J@@@@J..........................JJ@@  'black', a white
@@JJJ.............JJ@@@@J..........................JJ@@  and one grey.)
@@JJJJ.........J.J@@@@J...........................JJJ@@
@@JJJJJ.......J.JJ@@@@J...........................JJJ@@  [This example is
@@JJJJJ.......J.@@JJ@@....J........................@@@@  far from being
@@JJJJJ.......JJ@@JJ@@..JJJ........................@@@@  optimized, even at
@@JJJJJ.........JJ@@..............................J@@@@  this low res...]
@@JJJJJJ...J.JJJJJ@@.............................JJ@@@@
@@@@@JJJJJJJ@@JJJJ@@@JJJ@@@JJJ..................J@@@@@@  (Aren't the J's
@@@@@@JJJJJJ@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@JJJJJ.J.....JJ@@@@@@  annoying?)
@@@@@@@@JJJJJJJJ.J@@@@@@@@@@@JJJ...............@@@@@@@@
@@@@@@@@JJJJJJJJJ.JJ@@@@@@@@J................@@@@@@@@@@
@@@@@@@@@@JJJJ.J.JJ........................@@@@@@@@@@@@


               ....................J@@@@@@@@@@@@@......JJJJJJ..........
               .....................J@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@..JJJJ....JJ....
               ......@@.............JJJ@@@@@@@@@@@@..............JJ....
Here's the     ......J@JJJJ...J........J@@@@@@@@@..@JJJ@@....JJJ@JJJJ..
same image     ....@@JJ@@@@..JJ........J@@@@@@@@@..@J@@JJ......J@@@JJ..
in negative,   ....JJ@@@@J@J@@@@@J@....@@@@@@@@@@@@JJJ@JJ@@@@@@@@@@JJ..
for pc-monos:  ....JJ@@@@J@J@@@@@J@....@@@@@@@@@@@@@JJJ@@@@@@@@@@@@JJ..
               ..JJJJ@@J@@@@@@@@@@J....@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@JJJJ@@@@@@@@JJ..
(The whites    ..JJJJ@@J@@@@@@@@@@J....@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@J@@@@@@@@JJ..
just aren't    ..JJJ@@@@@@@@@@@@@@J....J@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@JJ..
very white!)   ..JJJ@@@@@@@@@@@@@JJ....J@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@JJ..
               ..JJJJ@@@@@@@@@J@J....J@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@JJJ..
               ..JJJJJ@@@@@@@J@JJ....J@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@JJJ..
               ..JJJJJ@@@@@@@J@..JJ..@@@@J@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@....
               ..JJJJJ@@@@@@@JJ..JJ..@@JJJ@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@....
               ..JJJJJ@@@@@@@@@JJ..@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@J....
               ..JJJJJJ@@@J@JJJJJ..@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@JJ....
               .....JJJJJJJ..JJJJ...JJJ...JJJ@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@J......
               ......JJJJJJ.......................JJJJJ@J@@@@@@JJ......
               ........JJJJJJJJ@J...........JJJ@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@........
               ........JJJJJJJJJ@JJ........J@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@..........
               ..........JJJJ@J@JJ@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@............



*********************
 ASCII anti-aliasing
*********************

The oddities of the ascii lettershapes, though, need not be purely
noise.  One can also view ascii as a palette whose elements combine
both linedraw and greyscale effects.  This might be thought of as
anti-aliased greyscale, and ought to allow at least doubled
resolution, both horizontally and vertically.  (I wonder how this
works on other screens?):


(((&(&(&(&(&(((&@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@(((((((((((((((((((((((@
((&(((&((&(&((@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&(((((((((((((((((((((@
(&(&((&(&&((@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&((((((((((((((((((@
((&(&(@&@&@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&&(((((((((((((((@
&(((&&&@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@(((((((((((((((@
(&(&(@@@&&@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@5::""=@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&((((((((((((((@
((&(&&@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@:::::::m88CCC8@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&(((((((((((@
(&(&@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@#88@@88b_::::::mm@9998C8@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@((((((((((@
((@&@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@#L""#58@@@)::..8<"_@@9>"C@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&(((((((@
(@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@3::))::)@@:::  :Yh":::::C@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@m(((((
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@33:)::::(@@:::.   :"?::::C@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@(@((K((((
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@3)::::::d@@|::.    ..::::C@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@(@((@(((@
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@3J)::::/J@@|::..   ..:::(C@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@((@@&((@
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@3J)::::6@C8:=)..   .:::::@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&((((@
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@33J):;;cO8::::.... :::::_@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&((((@
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@833O8mm@@m888mme_=;:::_@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&@(((@
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@88OOOO:@@@88P":::::::w@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@(@@@(@((@
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@88OOJJ):::::::::::_@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@(@@@(&((@
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&&88888):::::__wm@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@(@@@@((@
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&&88888 @@@@@&&@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@(@@@&((@
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&8@888883 888888@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&@
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&@&8&8888833 88888&@@&@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&@@

|@@@@@@@^^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^@@@@@@@@|
|@@@@@@^     ~^  @  @@ @ @ @ I  ~^@@@@@@|
|@@@@@            ~ ~~ ~I          @@@@@|   Here's a superb white-on-black
|@@@@'                  '  _,w@<    @@@@|   anti-aliased image I just got
|@@@@     @@@@@@@@w___,w@@@@@@@@  @  @@@|   in the mail.
|@@@@     @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@  I  @@@|
|@@@@     @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@*@[ i  @@@|
|@@@@     @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@[][ | ]@@@|
|@@@@     ~_,,_ ~@@@@@@@~ ____~ @    @@@|
|@@@@    _~ ,  ,  `@@@~  _  _`@ ]L  J@@@|
|@@@@  , @@w@ww+   @@@ww``,,@w@ ][  @@@@|
|@@@@,  @@@@www@@@ @@@@@@@ww@@@@@[  @@@@|
|@@@@@_|| @@@@@@P' @@P@@@@@@@@@@@[|c@@@@|
|@@@@@@w| '@@P~  P]@@@-~, ~Y@@^'],@@@@@@|
|@@@@@@@[   _        _J@@Tk     ]]@@@@@@|
|@@@@@@@@,@ @@, c,,,,,,,y ,w@@[ ,@@@@@@@|
|@@@@@@@@@ i @w   ====--_@@@@@  @@@@@@@@|
|@@@@@@@@@@`,P~ _ ~^^^^Y@@@@@  @@@@@@@@@|
|@@@@^^=^@@^   ^' ,ww,w@@@@@ _@@@@@@@@@@|
|@@@_xJ~ ~   ,    @@@@@@@P~_@@@@@@@@@@@@|
|@@   @,   ,@@@,_____   _,J@@@@@@@@@@@@@|
|@@L  `' ,@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@|

Here's a playful anti-aliased ascii font (3*3):

    !  i-, ,=_ :\  = - --= ,-, i i !   i ! / i   \  /
   i=: :=\ :   | ) |-  |-  | _ :_: :   | =:  :   !""!
   j t |_) Y_- :=' o-= o   Y-) ! ! i \-Y i \ =-- +  +

  = : ,-, i-  ,-, :-, ,-> ==- i i i i !  ! \ / i i <-=
  |\| [ ) :_) [ ) i_; "-,  |  | | \ / :/\:  =  ':'  /
  : + "=" |   "=t ! \ o_)  !  "="  +  !  ! j t  !  o-=

An anti-aliasing character palette should include these 'diagonals':
    JhjtY


A new anti-aliasing algorithm!

Happily, as I was working on this faq, I ran across Rob Harley
(robert@vlsi.cs.caltech.edu), who had some handy code for converting
b&w bitmaps according to a mapping like this:

  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..
  ..  ..  ..  ..  .@  .@  .@  .@  @.  @.  @.  @.  @@  @@  @@  @@
  ..  .@  @.  @@  ..  .@  @.  @@  ..  .@  @.  @@  ..  .@  @.  @@
      ,   .   _   -   i   v   g   -   c   i   s   =   e   z   m

  .@  .@  .@  .@  .@  .@  .@  .@  .@  .@  .@  .@  .@  .@  .@  .@
  ..  ..  ..  ..  .@  .@  .@  .@  @.  @.  @.  @.  @@  @@  @@  @@
  ..  .@  @.  @@  ..  .@  @.  @@  ..  .@  @.  @@  ..  .@  @.  @@
  '   !   /   2   !   ]   /   d   /   (   /   K   Y   4   Z   W

  @.  @.  @.  @.  @.  @.  @.  @.  @.  @.  @.  @.  @.  @.  @.  @.
  ..  ..  ..  ..  .@  .@  .@  .@  @.  @.  @.  @.  @@  @@  @@  @@
  ..  .@  @.  @@  ..  .@  @.  @@  ..  .@  @.  @@  ..  .@  @.  @@
  `   \   |   L   \   \   )   G   !   t   [   b   +   N   D   W

  @@  @@  @@  @@  @@  @@  @@  @@  @@  @@  @@  @@  @@  @@  @@  @@
  ..  ..  ..  ..  .@  .@  .@  .@  @.  @.  @.  @.  @@  @@  @@  @@
  ..  .@  @.  @@  ..  .@  @.  @@  ..  .@  @.  @@  ..  .@  @.  @@
  ~   T   7   X   V   Y   Z   8   f   5   P   K   *   M   A   @

The most important factor in these assignments is not the letter
shape alone, but the overall pixel density.  On my Mac, these rows
form an approximate greyscale, from 2 pixels per char, to six:

2 _ivc=!/|\~
3 gjez2]/(YL\)t[+T7Vf
4 mdK4ZGbNDXY5P*
5 W8KMA
6 @           <-- remember, this choice varies widely: @#%&*

Theoretically, these substitutions could turn 22*80 ascii resolution
into 66*160.  See rec.misc for the sourcecode and further details.
Here's the output:

i`it)v|[[[[(//s+)`(-\\/JJgbdd@@@@@@@dmKK(c!(/-[2=/cct/!-v\!_L\)|
]-!/(!-)\L\)v|c5(!,!Ldd@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@dK/]!c\\\v|i\/cT\v((c-
]!`/v\//(-|t\VvcL!m@@@@@M@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@bLt\\|)c/2-vv)/it\.
--/-,\,\v\,|)/v/m@@@@@@K@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@bK!v!-( )-!.[/cT
//.\--'--|-/c(e@@@@@@@DD@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@s\\\\-||/v!c\.
-,-|\`||\-\/id@@@@@@@@N@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@b.),`-,-/c-`i
!,\!-!-!'!-!d@@@@@@@P[+~**AAA@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@b/./`c-/.\7-
--'.-- -/,id@@@*P!`          \'Z8@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@i.\\'.\.c
',`,`\'-,-J@@5`-           -- `-iYA@@@@@@@@@@b@@@@@@@@@_\-|-\c-
'. -.,`/.G@@K- `               - )7KM@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@c-----/
- `-  --i@@Ai                    -!ZZ@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@b! \`|-`
 `-,'- G@@@[,                    '.D8K@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@[/-,-/.
-` .-/v@@@A)                      -)ZdMd@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@\' _\
- ` ,iVJ@@@!                     '-!(K5K@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@[(/s[.
  - i\G@@@Z-                    ' ! -i55ZZ@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@)(4)`
 , -|b@@@@!\                     '  ` |-tYG@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@XNYZ-
   tt@@@@A-,                        '  `)(d@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@D)8A[
   )8@@@@@\                         ,-'-/Kd@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@KD@[
  ]]Z@@@@d|-              ,ii.c,, -.icLZKK@@@@@@8@K@@@@@@@@@(@8[
  KN8@@@@@( .i!vGG_      J4Kb8ZKb@bbK@d@88@@@@@@@b@@@@@@@@@@dK@-
 )/8K@@@K@b@dP~~~T4(    Jd@@7`___s@M@@@@MM8d@@@d@@@@@@@@@@@@LM8[
\!48@K@@@@8@@d*@@@bVi   bAKLY~~@@@@@@*ff/\NM8@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@db@[
,\\Kb@@@d@.~t` !*~!`.  -MA)    '~'.).` `,'K@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@AKb[
,`8M@@@@@@ -`,,gvZ``    A//-  ..c\+\`    i]d@@@@@@M@@@@@@@@@@@8[
i\@8@K@@@D              \!'             !iZ8@@@8A@@@@@8d@b@@@8M[
e8d5@@@@@@             '!-             '-)8@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@M8i
8dZ8@M@@@@-             v  ,          ,\tK@@@@@@@@@@@@A@@@@@@Z2|
@b@AK@@@b@[              //           cctbA@@@AK@@d@@d@@@K@@@bmi
@@8@M@8@@@P-            -=/.         /iD8d@@@@@@@@@@@@@@A@@@d@@[
@8@@@MA@@@@\-      .   _)g2i        -((dKK@@@@@d@@@@d@@K@@@@@@K[
@@@bAK@@K@@)i     'c,,Kb@@bK       )X)Kb@M@@d@@@Mb@@A@d@@@@@@8@[
@K@b@@@@A@AA/i-     ~M@@@@Mc    .,\c=)D8d@@b@@@d@@@@@@@@@@8d@@A[
@@@@Mb@@@@@@('c\`     PPK((,i]v|-\-v)8XNAdMK@@@@@@@b@@MK@A@@@@@[
@@8@@MK@d@A@L!--c)s_, ,(ZsbLb@\`- .-N]/KM@@@@@@@d@@@A@@@@@@@@d@[
@@Kb@@@K@b@@@/-  !''~~Vff*N5f -` -,\))KK@@@@@@@MK@@d@@@M8d@b@@@[
@b@@@KAK@@@@@@2--    ,,_JJ/i)/- |/v)NK@8d@@@@@@@@@@8@@@@@@@@M@K[
@@8d@K@@@b@@@@@d!,   'VV\)\\)\7(-)4Jb@8@A@@@K@d@@@@@@@8@@@@@@@@[
M@@@@8@@K@Kb@@@d@v.       `-\\/v)88b@M@A@K@@M@@@A@@M@8@@A@d@8@M[
Zb@d@M@K@@@@@@@@@@m       -)!/stbb@b@@A@b@@@@@Kb@@@@@@@b@@@K@@@[
K@@d@@@@@d@M@8@@@@@Ks   ,-/vJD@@8d@K@@@@@@8@@@@@@@@@@MK@@@b@@M@[
tN@b@@d@d@M@@@@@@@@@@LL4JKd@A@@d@@K@@@@MK@@@@8@@@@@@@@@@@b@@@@@[
)NM@8b@@A@@@A@@@@@@@@@@@@@@A@@A@@8@@K@d@@@@M@@K@@K@A@@@8@@M@@@@[
(tMM@@@d@@M8@@@@A@@@@A@@@A@@@@@@@@@A@@@@8b@@8d@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@M[
tNZ@@K@@@d@@@@A@@@@@8@@@/4N@@8@b@@d@@M@8@MK@M8@K@@@@@@d@@@@@@@@[
M/KA8@@@MA@@@M@@@@@@@@@@[|t*Z@N@@@@8@@M8ZAZZ@M@@@A@d@@@@@K@@@d@[
bYJ4M@@@@@@A@@@@@@@@@@@@D.\'(YKKZD@8dK@5A84YZ@dM@@@@@@@@@@@@d@@[
K5dM8@8d@d@@@@@@@@8@@@@@@..-!/))ZK5AK4)AY(/XY/Z@@@A@@@d@@@M@@@@[
Y8dNA@@AK@@d@@@b@@@@@@@@@L,-,\!]]\X(5)Z/7c\\t5/K@@@@@@@@b@@@@@@[
8M8@@@A@@@A@@8@@@@@@@@@KDLt! !,-|t'(-\\!,\/,\!ZJG@@@d@Md@@@G@@@[

=----------=-   ,!.   --=----=----=----=----=----=----=----=----=----=----=
Jorn Barger     j't   Anon-ftp to genesis.mcs.com in mcsnet.users/jorn for:
  <:^)^:<   K=-=:: -=->  Finnegans Wake, artificial intelligence, Ascii-TV,
 .::.:.::..  "=i.: [-'  fractal-thicket indexing, semantic-topology theory,
jorn@mcs.com  /;:":.\    DecentWrite, MiniTech, nant/nart, flame theory &c!
=----------= ;}'   '(, -=----=----=----=----=----=----=----=----=----=----=

============================================================================

[  Note: There has been some reformatting of the text to make it fit
         within 76 columns to avoid linewrap, and, the sub-headings
         have been re-done to make them clearer. Otherwise the
         original text has remained unchanged. ]

Bye,

File: academy/faqs/faq_randall.txt
http://www.ascii-art.de/ascii/faq.html

Archive-name: ascii-art/faq
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Version: 3.0.3.18
Last-changed: 2003-05-10 cjr
Compiler: CJRandall
Copyright: Public display of this document in proportional-fonts is forbidden

========================================================================
    | |     : :                  ::        \   \              ;;
    J J     : :                  ::         \   \            ;;
     L L    : :         __   _   _________   \   \          ;;
     | |    : :        /  |`| |`|___   ___|`-.\   \        ;;
     J J    : :       / . | | |  `-.| |`-. `-.`\   \      ;;
      L L   : :      / /| | | |     | |   `-. `-\   \    ;;
      | |   : :     / /_| | | |     | |      `-. \   \. ;;
      J J   : :    / ___  | | |     | |         `-\   \`-.
       L L  : :   / /`-.| | | |___  | |  _         \   \-.`-._
       | |  : :  /_/____|_|_|_____|_|_|_(_) _       \   \ `-._`:
       J J  : : |__________________________| `-.     \   \-.,-'
        L L : :      _  _  _ _       _  ___ `-. `-.   \   \ |
        | | :_:   /\(_ / ` | | _ /\ | )  | `-. `-. `-. \   \|
        J J | |  /--\_)\_,_|_|_-/--\|_\__|__  `-. `-._`-\   \
         L L|_| |___________________________|`-. `-._ `-.\   \
         | |   |    _____   ___      ___     `-.`-._ `-._ \ ,!`-.
         J J   |   |  ___|`/ _ \`-._/ _ \`--.   `-._`--._`-'||`-'
          L L  |   | |_   / /_\ \  / / \ \   `-._   `--. `-,+.`-._
       __-------_  |  _|`/ _____ \ \ \_/ /_._    `--._  `-.|X||-./
      |          |/|_|_./_/_____\_\_\_____/=\`-._     `-.  |X||.|
      |       _,--------------.____ -========\_(A)`-.._  `-|X||\
  Ool |     _|                     `         |_`--.    `-- |X||/
  /VK |    | | ALT.ASCII-ART: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS   / ||-.
========================================================================
[Subject:] (FAQ) Welcome to ASCII art
========================================================================

__  __   __     _,
\\  \\   / ___ '||  ___  ___ __  _  _   ___    _/|_ ___
 \\ /\\ / //_\) || // \)// \\ ||'||'|| //_\)    || // \\
  \/  \/  \\__,_||_\\__,\\_//_||_||_||_\\__,    \|_\\_//

              ___   ___ ____ ____
        /\   ((  / //  | ||   ||     ___  _,_ _/|_
       /_\\   \\  ((     ||   ||     __\\'||\) ||
     _/  _\\_/__)) \\__,_||_ _||_   ((_||_||_  \|_


Answers to frequently asked questions about ASCII art
========================================================================
On the Web, the FAQ and other useful documents can be found in the
ASCII art Documentation Archive (ADA), at the following locations:-
========================================================================
*** There is a wealth of information about ASCII Art ***
***         in the ASCII Documents Archive           ***
========================================================================
                 International Mirrors
========================================================================
http://www.sci.fi/~iltzu/ascii/ada/            (Helsinki, Finland)
http://www.ludd.luth.se/~vk/q/ada/             (Lulea, Sweden)
http://voices.vossnet.co.uk/a/atkins/ada/      (Langley, UK)
http://website.lineone.net/~martin.atkins/ada/ (London, UK)
http://www.bluedwarf.net/~mikechat/ada/         (California, USA)
http://votrezone.com/ada/                      (Calgary, Canada)
http://martweb.hypermart.net/ada/              (Seattle, USA) <==spyware
========================================================================
 -*+!%$%!+*-.-*+!%$%!+*-.-*+!%$%!+*-.-*+!%$%!+*-.-*+!%$%!+*-.-*+!%$%!+*-
========================================================================
Contents
========================================================================
 [1]  What's alt.ascii-art?
 [2]  What is ASCII art?
 [3]  What does ASCII mean?
 [4]  Why do all the pictures look strange?
 [5]  What font do you use for ASCII art?
 [6]  What program do you use for ASCII art?
 [7]  How do I draw my own ASCII art?
 [8]  Can someone do me some kewl lettering?
 [9]  Where can I find Figlet's address?
[10]  Can I copy or post that ASCII picture for myself?
[11]  What way works best to ask for a picture of something?
[12]  What should I know before posting to alt.ascii-art?
[13]  What to NOT post to alt.ascii-art? [da roolz]
[14]  How do I convert a picture or graphic to ASCII art?
[15]  I have a picture or graphic and I would like it Asciified?
[16]  What are ASCII art signature files?
[17]  What is ASCII art animation?
[18]  What does ObAscii mean?
[19]  The ASCII Art Rough-Guide to m$.Outlook?
[20]  Where can I find pictures/tutorials/infos/chatrooms/experts?
[21]  Historacle's What types of ASCII art are there?
[X1]  The Ascii Art 10-Commandments

========================================================================
[1]  What's alt.ascii-art?  What's going on here?
========================================================================
    You're probably reading this because it's been posted to
    news:alt.ascii-art, news:alt.ascii-art.animation or rec.arts.ascii.
    If you're not, jump in and take a look.  In these Usenet groups
    people discuss ASCII art, request ASCII art, post ASCII art, post
    improved versions or variations of other people's ASCII art, and
    generally have fun.

========================================================================
[2]  What is ASCII art?
========================================================================
    ASCII art is any sort of pictures or diagrams drawn with the
    printable characters in the ASCII character set.
    (For a definition of ASCII, see Question 3.)

    :-) Probably the most common ASCII art picture is the smiley (-:
        but it can get a lot more sophisticated than that.
               ____
            .-" +' "-.      Here's a small ASCII picture of
           /.'.'A_'*`.\     a snow-scene paperweight,
          |:.*'/\-\. ':|    drawn by Joan Stark:
          |:.'.||"|.'*:|
           \:~^~^~^~^:/     If this picture looks very strange and
            /`-....-'\      you can't really tell what it is,
       jgs /          \     don't panic -- see Question 5.
           `-.,____,.-'

    People use ASCII art for a number of reasons. Here are some of them.
    *   It is the most universal computer art form in the world --
        every computer system capable of displaying multi-line text can
        display ASCII art, without needing to have a graphics mode or
        support a particular graphics file format.
    *   An ASCII picture is hundreds of times smaller in file size
        than its GIF or BMP equivalent, while still giving a good idea
        of what something looks like.
    *   It's easy to copy from one file to another (just cut and paste).
    *   It's fun!

========================================================================
[3]  What does ASCII mean?
========================================================================
    ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)
      7-bit as defined in ISO-646 is a basic set of 128 numbered symbols
      which almost all kinds of computer can display. Here are the ones
      that are used for ASCII art:

    032 [space] 048 0   064 @   080 P   096 `   112 p
    033 !       049 1   065 A   081 Q   097 a   113 q
    034 "       050 2   066 B   082 R   098 b   114 r
    035 #       051 3   067 C   083 S   099 c   115 s
    036 $       052 4   068 D   084 T   100 d   116 t
    037 %       053 5   069 E   085 U   101 e   117 u
    038 &       054 6   070 F   086 V   102 f   118 v
    039 '       055 7   071 G   087 W   103 g   119 w
    040 (       056 8   072 H   088 X   104 h   120 x
    041 )       057 9   073 I   089 Y   105 i   121 y
    042 *       058 :   074 J   090 Z   106 j   122 z
    043 +       059 ;   075 K   091 [   107 k   123 {
    044 ,       060 <   076 L   092 \   108 l   124 |
    045 -       061 =   077 M   093 ]   109 m   125 }
    046 .       062 >   078 N   094 ^   110 n   126 ~
    047 /       063 ?   079 O   095 _   111 o

    There are other characters in the set (with the numbers 0 - 31 and
    127), but they can do bad stuff to Usenet readers, so PLEASE DON'T
    USE THEM in your pictures (except characters 10 and or 13 which
    are used to insert a new-line by a variety of Operating Systems).

========================================================================
[4]  Why do the pictures look strange?
========================================================================
    If one particular picture posted to this group looks faulty, but the
    rest of them look fine, then its most likely a problem with that
    particular picture, or with the poster's Usenet program. But if
    *all* the pictures look bad, then your Usenet reader may be set to
    display messages in a proportional font (see Question 5).

    *   If there are a lot of almost-blank lines in the picture, then
        the message is probably suffering from `wrapping'. This
        wrapping may be being done by your newsreader; see if it has an
        option called `wrap long lines' or similar, and make sure it is
        turned off. If this doesn't work, then the wrapping was probably
        done by the news program of the person who sent the picture, in
        which case there's not much you can do -- everybody else will be
        seeing the same thing.

    *   If there are a lot of < and > symbols in the  picture, with
        words like HTML, FONT COLOR, B, I, and so on inside them, then
        the picture has been sent in HTML format and your newsreader
        does not understand HTML (most newsreaders don't).

========================================================================
[5]  What font do you use for ASCII art?
========================================================================
    ASCII art is created using a fixed-width font (like on a traditional
    typewriter), because this is the only way to make it portable.
    However, several Usenet readers now display messages in a
    proportional font (where different characters are different widths).

    The following two lines tell you which kind of font you're using.
    The arrow ends up in a different place for different font types and
    is right most of the time:

    You are using a [Proportional] [Monospaced] font
    ................................. --^--

    Also, to see what your program is doing, look at these two lines:
    iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii|
    WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW|
    If they look the same length, you're using a fixed-width font and
    all should be ok. If the second line is longer than the first, you
    need to change your settings to use a fixed-width font.

        In Netscape Messenger, this option is set in
           Edit > Preferences > Mail & Newsgroups.
        In Outlook Express, the option is set in
           View > Options > Fonts  (see Question 19)
        In Forte Agent, the option is set in
           Options > Display Preferences > Fonts
        and Free Agent, the option is set in
           Options > General Preferences > Fonts
        The AOL newsreader can not, at the time of writing,
        display Usenet messages in a fixed-width font at all.

    Detailed information on how to configure other Usenet readers is
    available at the:
      ASCII-Art Documentation Archive (see the beginning of this FAQ).
    If all else fails, copy the text of the picture from
    your program and paste it into a text editor (such as Notepad).
    It's a hassle, but at least you'll get to see the pictures.

========================================================================
[6]  What program do you use for ASCII art?
========================================================================
    You can create ASCII art in any text editor,     [jorn barger]
    such as: Notepad in Windows,
    SimpleText or BBEdit in MacOS,
    nedit, vi, vim, or pico in Unix,                   _+m"m+_
    BEd or AZ in AmigaOS, edit in DOS,                Jp     qh
    or any of the various Emacs editors.              O       O
                                                      Yb     dY
    A  'quick-start'  program  for learning            "Y5m2Y"
    is JavE, a free Java program  that can be
    obtained from:-          http://www.jave.de

    Some editors have features which make them more
    suitable for  ASCII art  than others, but that is
    largely a matter of personal opinion. Features which
    are both useful for  ASCII art  and  available in many
    text editors, include the following:-

    *   Overtype, also known as overstrike: removes the need for
        you to constantly realign characters using the  Backspace,
        Space, and Delete keys. Try the  Insert key if there is one
        on your keyboard,  or  your program's Options or Preferences.

    *   Rectangular copy and paste: allows you to select rectangular
        sections of text (not just rows or parts of rows). On programs
        which have this feature, it is usually done by holding down a
        key such as Ctrl while selecting text.

    *   Find/Change: allows you to change all the characters of one
        value to another (eg: change all the ~s to "s).

========================================================================
[7]  How do I draw my own ASCII art?
========================================================================
    Unfortunately, there aren't many text books on the subject. :-)
    A good way to learn is to study how someone has made a picture.
    What characters are chosen and how the characters are laid out.
    How a texture is made.

    #########::::::::::########   The best way to learn is to Practise.
    ##########::::::::#########   Draw your cat, your toaster, your
    ###########::::::##########   partner, your musical instruments,
    ###########,---.###########   anything that will sit still long
    ##########/`---'\##########   enough.  Practice makes, if not
    #########/       \#########   perfect, then at least pretty good.
    ########/         \########   Whether you do small drawings (less
    #######:`-._____.-':#######   work involved) or large ones (easier
    ######::::: ( ) |::::######   to make recognizable) is up to you.
    #####:::::: ) ( o:::::#####   If you're interested in tutorials,
    ####::::: .-(_)-. :::::####   there are many available from the
    ###:::::: '=====' ::::::###   ASCII-art Documentation Archive.
    ########################Mk#
                                           _
    A good way to begin drawing is to      \`"-.
    type a row of spaces for however        )  _`-.
    wide you want your picture, and        ,  : `. \
    then copy this row and paste it        : _   '  \
    for however many rows high you         ; *` _.   `--._
    think the picture will get.            `-.-'          `-.
    Turn Overtype on and place the           |       `       `.
    cursor  somewhere in the middle          :.       .        \
    and begin drawing. This can save         | \  .   :   .-'   .
    using  Delete, Backspace, Enter          :  )-.;  ;  /      :
    and Space-bar keystrokes.                :  ;  | :  :       ;-.
    Saving this empty  `canvas' as a         ; /   : |`-:     _ `- )
    read-only file for future use can     ,-' /  ,-' ; .-`- .' `--'
    save you even more time later.        `--'   `---' `---' bug

    Another method is by tracing a picture either onto clear-plastic
    and sticking it onto the screen then opening an editor to trace
    under or using an editor which allows the loading of a background
    image to trace over, a process known as `water-mark'.

    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.

    When drawing ASCII art be aware that there are a few characters
    that differ in size, shape and position among fonts:
    ' apostrophe -- tilts southwest-northeast or vertical
    ^ caret -- differs in size and shape
    ~ tilde -- appears in the middle or top
    I aye   -- straight line in sans-serif, with strokes in serif
               try using the vertical bar (|) instead.
    # hash  -- hash symbol on most, currency on some old computers.

========================================================================
[8]  Can someone do me some kewl lettering?
========================================================================
    There is a program called Figlet which does that sort of thing
    automatically -- you type in `Jane Smith', and you get back

        ___              __,
       ( /              (          o _/_ /
        / __,  _   _     `.  _ _  ,  /  /_
      _/_(_/(_/ /_(/_  (___)/ / /_(_(__/ /_
     //
    (/

    in this and a whole lot of other fonts (see Question 9).
    The ASCII art text produced by Figlet can be quite stunning,
    so try it first before asking for help from the newsgroups.

    IF, however, Figlet doesn't produce the kind of results you want,
    THEN post to alt.ascii-art or rec.arts.ascii with your request and
    ensure that you include:
    *    that you have already tried Figlet or don't have access to it
         otherwise you will probably just get told to use it.
    *    a description of the kind of lettering you want, along with
         any other symbols or logos which you would like incorporated
         into it.

========================================================================
[9]  Where can I find Figlet ?
========================================================================
    The Figlet home page is at:-  http://www.figlet.org/
    and links to the FTP site:-    ftp://ftp.figlet.org/pub/figlet/
    where you can download versions of the program or source-code
    for many different platforms.

    You can run Figlet on the Web by going to one of the following sites
    and choosing your text and options on the Web page. Different sites
    offer different options (e.g. multiple fonts at once, justification,
    and limited line length). Some of these sites also provide an e-mail
    Figlet service for people with browsers which don't support forms.

    *    http://schnoggo.com/figlet.html
    *    http://www.network-science.de/ascii/
    *    http://home.cern.ch/~rigaut/FigletJava.html

========================================================================
[10]  Can I copy or post that ASCII picture for myself?
========================================================================
       .
      / \                     Don't assume that if somebody posts
      | |                     something to a Usenet group, that gives
      |.|                     you the right to use it however you like,
      |.|                     copyright laws still apply.
      |:|      __             For more information, see the article:-
    ,_|:|_,   /  )            Copyright Myths FAQ:
      (Oo    / _I_             `10 big myths about copyright explained'
       +\ \  || __|           in news:news.announce.newusers.
          \ \||___|
            \ /.:.\-\         It is also available at:-
             |.:. /-----\     http://www.clari.net/brad/copymyths.html
             |___|::oOo::|
             /   |:<_T_>:|    Generally, ASCII artists don't mind
            |_____\ ::: /     if you copy their pictures and
             | |  \ \:/       re-post them or put them on your own
             | |   | |        Web site, as long as you don't
     [nosig] \ /   | \__      make any money out of them.
             / |   \____\
             `-'
    Here are a few important considerations:-

    *   If the picture contains a few letters in one corner which don't
        seem to be part of the picture, they're the  artist's initials.
        DO NOT remove these initials -- would you cut away the part of
        a Van Gogh painting containing his name?  Leaving the initials
        on is a small price to pay for being able to use the picture
        for free.

    *   If you're going to use a picture in your signature file, or in
        a place (such as a log-in screen) which means you're going to
        be using it a lot, you should really e-mail the artist (or post
        to the newsgroup, if you don't know their address) and ask for
        permission, because otherwise people may get the mistaken
        impression that you were the one who drew the picture.

    *   If you find a picture you want to use, or post, but it doesn't
        have initials on it, a common method of marking has been to use
        the tag: Unknown. More recently the tag: [nosig] has been used.

    As for posting other people's ASCII art,
    after a discussion in news:alt.ascii-art       _     ___
    the following rules were agreed upon:         #_~`--'__ `===-,
    1.  If an ASCII ART picture has initials      `.`.     `#.,//
        on it, leave them on when posting it      ,_\_\     ## #\
    2.  If an ASCII ART picture doesn't have      `__.__    `####\
        initials on it,  mention  that  you            ~~\ ,###'~
        didn't  draw  it  when  posting  it.              \##'
    3.  If somebody  posts a picture without                  [nosig]
        initials and you have an original copy
        with initials on, feel free to re-post the original version.
        *   The re-post ought not to be taken personally, as we all
            know that ASCII art often loses proper credits.
            Responses to the re-post are not necessary.

    One contributor, name of Krogg, suggested the following:

    1.) Ultra polite:...ya make yer own ascii and use it.
    2.)  Very polite:...Ya contact the author and ask if ya
                        can use it...
    3.)       polite:...Ya use it but you keep the Credits
                        in there like they should be.
    4.)         rude:...Ya use it and strip credits.
    5.)    Very rude:...Ya use it and claim that it Is
                        _Your_ very own creation...

    You choose ... I think the default choice is #3 but you should
    make up yer own mind....

========================================================================
[11]  What way works best to ask for a picture of something?
========================================================================
    Give your request the subject:  `REQ:' or `[req]'
    Whatever you're looking for a picture of, in the message describe
    more exactly what you're looking for. Generally, the more specific
    you are, the more likely you are to get some response.
    If you just say something like:
         `can someone draw me a fish, please'
    then you may not get many replies, because people may not know
    what size or feel they're wasting their time by drawing something
    you won't want. If you don't have Web access, mention this fact,
    otherwise you may get replies consisting only of URLs for the
    kind of pictures you're looking for.
    If someone is rude back to you directly, then please be patient,
    since it may just be a troll trying to wind you up.
          __
        .'  ))  __-:!:-                If you have a picture
          .'  .'  ))                   and want it Ascii-fied
        ((__,'  .'   ASCII! -:!:-      see Question 14 and 15.
        -:!:- ((__,'*

========================================================================
[12]  What should I know before posting to alt.ascii-art?
========================================================================
    It doesn't matter if your ASCII art isn't particularly good; we'd
    like to see it anyway. We won't be rude about it (although you'd
    better tell us what it is, or we might ask :-), but if it shows
    potential, you may find that other people will `re-diddle' it --
    change a few characters, make it a bit better, and re-post it.

    HOWEVER, there are a few things you should check before you
    post to news:alt.ascii-art any piece of ASCII art
    (see also Question 13).

    *   Are you sending it as PLAIN TEXT? Some news programs,
        particularly those built in to Web browsers, read and write
        messages in HTML (HyperText Markup Language, the language which
        Web pages are written in). HTML allows colours and (using
        JavaScript) animations in ASCII art, but few newsreaders
        support it, and those which don't will show a whole lot of
        garbage text with your picture hidden inside it.

        So if you have one of these HTML-sending programs, then select
        the option which tells it to send messages as PLAIN TEXT only
        and turn off "send MIME message".

        If you have a picture which uses HTML for a particular
        feature (such as  colors or animation), put it on a Web page
        and post the URL of the page to alt.ascii-art

    *   Is it under 72 characters wide? Most news readers can only show
        lines which are under either 72, 76, or 80 characters wide, so
        if your picture is wider than 72 characters it may get wrapped
        [see Question 4]. Also remove any unnecessary space characters
        from the end of each line of the picture, to prevent lines from
        being too long (and getting wrapped) without your realizing.

    *   If it IS over 72 characters wide?
        Then a warning in the subject line [wide:110] or whatever the
        original picture width and Check Your Post Output Line-Wrap
        settings.  [for Outlook see Question 19]
        Previous versions of this FAQ used a system to prefix posts
        such as: [pic] [info] [req] [big] which may be used as a guide
        when providing warnings.

    *   Have you used any TAB characters or Control Codes?
        Inserting control codes (ASCII characters 0 to 31) in a picture
        can sometimes achieve interesting effect on your computer screen
        or news reader, such as reversing text or changing its colour.
        DO NOT post any of these pictures to news:alt.ascii-art, post to
        news:alt.binaries.pictures.ascii instead for two reasons:-

        1.  the effects that the control codes have on your news reader
            are almost certainly going to be  different  from those on
            the thousands of other news readers that other people use

        2.  on some news readers, control codes can cause  messed up
            displays, messages not appearing, or (in some cases) the
            news reader crashing.

    *   If your first line starts with one or more spaces, stick a
        dummy line (such as -- or .) above it, to prevent the spaces
        from being ignored by your news program (this only applies to
        some news programs, and only to the first line of the
        message).

    If you're not sure about whether your message will turn out ok,
    post it to a test group (such as news:alt.test or news:misc.test)
    first and make sure (using a different newsreader, if you can) that
    you can read it ok.

    [See Question 10 for advice on posting someone else's ASCII art.]

========================================================================
[13]  What to NOT post to alt.ascii-art? [da roolz]
========================================================================
[13.1]            ASCII art is a very simple medium.
            _  _                                         _  _
      ___ (~ )( ~)   The following List of Items       (~ )( ~) ___
     /   \_\ \/ /      should NOT be posted to          \ \/ /_/   \
    |   D_ ]\ \/         the Usenet groups:-             \/ /[ _G   |
    |   D _]/\ \                                         / /\[_ G   |
     \___/ / /\ \   news:alt.ascii-art                  / /\ \ \___/
     mark (_ )( _)  news:alt.ascii-art.animation       (_ )( _) JavE
            ~  ~    news:alt.ascii-art.endless.blabla    ~  ~

                    news:alt.binaries.pictures.ascii

        NOTE: alt.binaries.pictures.ascii supports posting of ASCII
            software tools or fonts (in ZIP format) and binary images
            of ASCII or other FontSet (in GIF format) and any other
            ASCII art related material, but no Spam, in relation to
            discussions in the alt.ascii-art newsgroups.

                      -= List of Items =-

    *   Binaries, Trojans, Zombies, Virus, Spam.

    *   ANSI,`extended ASCII' or `high ASCII', and non-Western font art.
        Many computer systems have an extended character set of 256 or
        more characters, based on the ANSI, Unicode or BIG5 character
        sets and having the first 128 characters possibly identical to
        ASCII. These characters should not be sent to news:alt.ascii-art
        because many computer system types do not display them properly,
        even those that do, do not display them in a standard way, for
        example, the Windows ANSI character set is different to the
        Macintosh ANSI character set. Capture and send a GIF of it to
        news:alt.binaries.pictures.ascii or put it on a Web page
        instead, and post a reference to it to news:alt.ascii-art.
        Alternatively, post it to news:rec.arts.ascii (see [13.2]).

    *   HTML art. HTML, the language used in Web pages, can be used to
        add special effects such as colours, font size, and blinking
        text to ASCII art, and HTML can be read by some Usenet readers.
        However, to many they just appear as a jumble of <TAGS> and are
        totally unrecognizable, so don't post HTML to Usenet. Put it on
        a Web page instead, and post the address to news:alt.ascii-art.
        See http://llizard.crosswinds.net/ascii-art/asciionpage.htm
        for instructions on how to do this.

    *   ASCII art animated using Java or JavaScript.
        This relies, not only on the newsreader being able to display
        HTML, but also being able to run Java or JavaScript.
        Put it on a Web page instead, and post the address to
        news:alt.ascii-art.animation and news:alt.ascii-art

    *   Proportional Font ASCII art screws up on many readers' displays
        Send a GIF of it to  news:alt.binaries.pictures.ascii  or
        put it on a Web page instead and post a reference to it to
        news:alt.ascii-art  or  post it to  news:rec.arts.ascii

    Finally, do not use any control codes, non-ASCII characters,
    or word-processor-type formatting in your postings. These are
    particular to your editor or computer system they will almost
    certainly not have the intended effect on the systems the rest
    of us use (they may even crash some Usenet readers).

    ====================================================================
[13.2]  What can I post to rec.arts.ascii?
    ====================================================================
    The official charter for rec.arts.ascii, as sent in the newsgroup
    control message, is:

      The group news:rec.arts.ascii will be an appropriate group for
      postings to include, but not be limited to, the following:

      o  All forms of ASCII art including, but not limited to:
         -  Standard ASCII art.
         -  Animations.
         -  ANSI color graphics.
      o  Discussion about pieces of art.
      o  Requests for specific pieces of art, and their fulfilment.
      o  Questions and answers covering:
         -  Creating and viewing ASCII art.
         -  Locating FTP sites for ASCII art and related files.
      o  Discussion about artists in the field.

    rec.arts.ascii is a moderated group meaning that all posts are
    reviewed before being sent to the group. That work is done by a
    robo-moderator which filters Spam and checks the posts have the
    correct format before approving them.  It can also target a
    specific poster's traffic for human moderator approval.

    Subjects must be tagged either:
    [PIC] for pictures
    [REQ] for requests for others to draw pictures
          (people replying with pictures change the tag to [PIC])
    [DIS] for general ascii art related discussion and replies.
    [ADMIN] for the moderator to post important information.

    >>  NOTE: Please read:-
    >>
    >>      http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/asciiart/guidelines.txt
    >>
    >>  for concise up-to-date list of permitted subject tags
    >>  and usage before posting.

    The robo-mod also checks that the posts are in PLAIN TEXT only,
    that line length is set to LESS than 80 characters UNLESS the
    phrase [long lines] is in the BODY of the post, when the LIMIT
    is then raised to 200 characters.

    Cross-posting is permitted provided that:
      o - it is to no more than three groups
      o - the followup-to header is set to only one group.
    Cross-posting to other moderated groups is NOT permitted.

========================================================================
[14]  How do I convert a picture to ASCII art?
========================================================================
[14.1] programs:
    There are computer programs available which convert graphics files
    of a variety of formats (often GIF) to ASCII art. They go by names
    such as ascgif, gifa, gifscii, and gif2ascii.  Do a Web search for
    any of these programs to find places where you can download them.

    Try:
        gopher://twinbrook.cis.uab.edu/1A/atools.70
        ftp://ftp.simtel.com/.
        http://www.jave.de/.                         <== new

    Many think that you just put a GIF into a converter program and
    out comes a perfect ASCII pic.  Here are some things you can do
    to improve the chances of getting a good conversion:-

    o   Use an 8 bit grey scale or color image instead of a 2 bit B&W.
    o   Use an image with a wide, even distribution of tones.
    o   Keep it simple, like a face or close-up of an object.
    o   Avoid busy backgrounds.  Generally avoid bright backgrounds.
    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 9 to 11 out of 12.
    o   It helps to do touch-up work on the converted picture,
        concentrate on the focal points and important areas.

[14.2] tracing:
    Another method is by tracing a picture, either onto clear-plastic
    and sticking it onto the screen then opening an editor to trace
    under or using an editor which allows the loading of a background
    image to trace over, a process known as `water-mark'.

[14.3] image2html:
    There are computer programs and web-servers available which convert
    graphics files of a variety of formats (often GIF) to HTML colored
    TEXT art for use on web-pages. Do a quick search on your favourite
    web search-engine.

========================================================================
[15]  I have a picture and I would like it Asciified?
========================================================================
    In this case, post a request to news:alt.ascii-art asking for
    someone to `asciify' it, but
        >>>  PLEASE DON'T POST THE PICTURE ITSELF  <<<
    to save downloading time for people reading the messages,
    if possible give the URL (Web address) of the picture instead.

    If you saw the picture on a Web page, you can find out its URL by
    right-clicking on it (on the Macintosh, right-clicking,
    Ctrl-clicking, or holding down the mouse button) and selecting
    `Open this image' (or its equivalent for your Web browser), then
    copy the URL from the Location bar to your news program (make sure
    you copy it exactly).

    If the picture is not on a Web site anywhere, put it up on your own
    site (if you have one), or get a friend to put it up on their site,
    and post the URL to alt.ascii-art. If you can't do this, post your
    request to the newsgroups and wait for someone to reply, then post
    the picture to news:alt.binaries.pictures.ascii or e-mail to them.

========================================================================
[16]  What should I know about signature files?
========================================================================
    A signature file (or `sig' for short; not to be confused with the
    initials added to an ASCII picture) is a small, personalized text
    file which an e-mail or news program can add to the end of every
    message a person sends -- the equivalent of a letterhead for dead
    tree (paper) mail (or snail-mail). Usually it contains little more
    than the person's name, organization and e-mail address, maybe an
    inspirational quote of some sort and some people like to incorporate
    ASCII art into their signature files as well.

        _ _      _    _ _  _ ___ ___           \|/ ____ \|/
       | | | ___| |  (_) \| | __/ __|           @~/ ,. \~@
       |_  _|___| |__| | .` | _|\__ \          /_( \__/ )_\ Mike
         |_|    |____|_|_|\_|___|___/[Figlet]     \__U_/    Jittlov

    The lack of importance in relation to global warming, violence in
    society, and so on, can be the subject of heated arguments. To be
    brief, (almost) no-one will complain if your signature file is four
    lines long or fewer -- and it is quite possible to draw good ASCII
    pictures which are that small.
                 _______________________________________________
        (@) (@)    `) There are a lot of web-pages on this with )
       ^  < >  ^    (   google search ascii sig.         _______)
          ===        `----Richard James-----------------'

    Some e-mail/news programs don't allow you to have a signature file
    which is longer than four lines, while others just complain. Five or
    six lines may be acceptable, but  any longer, and you're starting to
    take the risk that your signature will be longer than some of your
    e-mail messages; this wouldn't really make sense on paper, so it
    isn't really acceptable in cyberspace either. The exception is in
    messages posted to news:alt.ascii-art itself -- we're used to seeing
    long sigs, so we won't complain.

       -'*((,,.-'*((,,.-'*((,,.-'*((,,.-'*((,,.-'*((,,.-'*((,,.-

    But, no matter what the length of your signature, make sure it's
    fewer than 72 characters wide, otherwise it may end up a horrible
    mess (see Question 8).

========================================================================
[17]  What is ascii-animation?
========================================================================
    An animated image produced by a sequence of changing ASCII pictures.
    The speed will depend on the system you are using.
    -----------------------------------------------------------------
     o   \ o /  _ o         __|    \ /     |__        o _  \ o /   o
    /|\    |     /\   __\o    \o    |    o/    o/__   /\     |    /|\
    / \   / \   | \  /)  |    ( \  /o\  / )    |  (\  / |   / \   / \
    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    Ascii-Animation transports vary a lot. The earliest known portable
    types used the Control-Codes of the (often .VT or .ANS) terminal
    screens for either `paging' or `direct cursor addressing'.
    Sometimes found as c-code in .sigs, which, when compiled and run
    produce moving patterns or images.
    -----------------------------------------------------------------
                      o         _        _            _
           _o        /\_      _ \\o     (_)\__/o     (_)
         _< \_      _>(_)    (_)/<_       \_| \      _|/' \/
        (_)>(_)    (_)           (_)      (_)       (_)'  _\o_
    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    Most Web Ascii-Animation uses Java or Javascript.

    *  To find out how to animate ASCII art using JavaScript, see:-
       http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Marina/4942/faq_hta.htm
       http://llizard.crosswinds.net/ascii-art/animation/animlesson.htm

    *  To find out how to animate ASCII art using Java, see:-
       http://www.jave.de/.
       http://www.jave.de/javeplayer/.

========================================================================
[18]  What does ObAscii mean?
========================================================================
    ObAscii = Obligatory Ascii

    Obligatory: [adj] compulsory (of a ruling) having binding force

    Ascii: [slang] ascii-art picture

    A funny way to remind people to put a drawing in their post.

    This means an ascii in every post! (especially off-topic threads)
    Failure to comply can result in flaming! This implies that if you
    don't include an ascii in your post you deserve to get flamed!

    It is to be a new ascii-art which takes longer but allows time to
    collect your thoughts and gives bystanders something to look at.

    ====================================================================
    The concept of ObAscii has been around since the creation of the
    usenet group news:alt.ascii-art and it's purpose is to provide some
    on-topic content to an otherwise off-topic posting.

    ====================================================================
    *NOT* The 1st ever! ObAscii :
    ====================================================================
     From: Matthew Thomas <mpt26@spamfree.land>
     Date: Thu, 08 Oct 1998 13:50:09 +1300
     Organization: University of Canterbury.nz (opinions are my own)

              ^
            ,' \                 [snip - 3rd party flame ]
            L""/
            ` |                  BOLLOCKS!!!
            J |
            J L                  I am staying out of this as much as
            | | .  ,             possible, Colin, because I really ...
            | | `v_L.'
           // ,>'--\'_           :.
           \`' \ - /-.           [snip - rant/rave]
           /   /`""|             :.
            ),'    `-
           (    ,-'  \           Anyway,  I think a lot of this
            ) ,' ,'   h          flaming would decrease if everyone
           / /  /     `)--..     was required to post a (different)
           \/  /       \  <)     obligatory ASCII pic in each message
            <        ,  L<'      -- at the very least, it would slow
            F/     _/  ,'        the flames down.
            L   ,-'     \
            |         ___L       So, to start the trend, here's my
           /         (  F
          J      ___,'  L        ObAscii: the Statue of Liberty.
          |    ,'       |
          F  ,'         |
         (_,--..__  mt-2|_
        ,'        `"`--.._\
      ,' /                 \
     /                     (_
    [snip - .sig of Matthew Thomas]

========================================================================
[19]  The ASCII Art Rough-Guide to m$.Outlook?
========================================================================
    Microsoft's Outlook Express program has a number of flaws, including
    * deleting spaces from the beginning of lines, and
    * inserting the word `file://' in unexpected places
    which make it very difficult to send ASCII art properly. Whether
    these are bugs or features we don't know, but we do know that
    Microsoft would rather ASCII art as a medium just disappeared (see
      http://cgi.pathfinder.com/time/digital/daily/0,2822,13735,00.html
    for more information). A registry patch to fix some of the flaws
    in Outlook Express is available from the ADA.


how to get rid of blue-lines in OE5:

   1. Press the decode button twice when viewing a blue-struck image.
      Because, after ROT13, OE will not parse links and so 2 x ROT13
      returns everything back to normal, but without the blue lines.
   2. Create a button in your toolbar so you can do it quickly.

      In OE 5.5-6.0 the URL parsing code is slightly better and
      doesn't foul as many images as previous versions.


How to stop Ms.Outlook giving wrapped output

   or the ascii-art you are sending is wider than 72 characters:

   1.  Tools menu
   2.  Options
   3.  Send
   4.  Both of these Mail and News format
   5.  Plain text settings         ____
   6.  Automatically wrap text at |____|


How to set your Outlook Express 6 to view ASCII art correctly:

   1.  On the TOOLS menu, click OPTIONS
   2.  Select the READ tab
   3.  International settings
   4.  "Use default encoding for all incoming messages" [tick]
   5.  Set the FONTS to display as western european.
       set both the PROPORTIONAL font and FIXED-WIDTH font to
       LUCIDA CONSOLE, and FONT SIZE to SMALLER
   6.  Click OK, then OK again.


How to set your Outlook Express 5 to view ASCII art correctly:

   1.  On the TOOLS menu, click OPTIONS
   2.  Select the READ tab
   3.  Click the FONTS button near the bottom of the box
   4.  For the languages UNICODE, WESTERN EUROPEAN and USER DEFINED
       set both the PROPORTIONAL font and FIXED-WIDTH font to
       LUCIDA CONSOLE, and FONT SIZE to SMALLER
   5.  Click OK, then OK again.


How to set your Outlook Express 4 to view ASCII art correctly:

   1.  On the TOOLS menu, click OPTIONS
   2.  Select the READ tab
   3.  Click the FONTS button near the bottom of the box
   4.  For the languages UNIVERSAL ALPHABET, USER DEFINED and WESTERN
       set both the PROPORTIONAL font and FIXED-WIDTH font to
       LUCIDA CONSOLE, and FONT SIZE to SMALLER
   5.  Click OK, then OK again.


   NOTE : If LUCIDA CONSOLE is not available as a font, pick another
          from the list of available FIXED-WIDTH fonts.

   Examples of fixed-width fonts        1.   ANDALE MONO
   commonly available with ms.windows:  2.   COURIER NEW
                                        3.   LUCIDA CONSOLE
                                        4.   LUCIDA SANS TYPEWRITER
                                        5.   OCR A EXTENDED

   If you have followed the above steps correctly, you should now
   be able to view and create ASCII art as it should be.

========================================================================
[20]  Where do I find ASCII art pictures, tutorials and information?
========================================================================
    There are a number of ASCII art Usenet groups:-

      news:alt.ascii-art
      news:alt.ascii-art.animation
      news:alt.ascii-art.endless.blabla
      news:alt.binaries.pictures.ascii
      news:rec.arts.ascii

    are English-speaking ones that are widely used.

    alt.ascii-art                [original ASCII art discussion group]
    alt.ascii-art.animation      [is about animating ASCII art]
    alt.ascii-art.endless.blabla [an off-topic follow-up troll-trap]
    alt.binaries.pictures.ascii  [ASCII art sofware/image drop-zone]
    rec.arts.ascii               [primary moderated ASCII art group]

    Lots of ASCII artists put up libraries of their own and others'
    ASCII art on their Web sites, as well as tutorials on how to draw
    ASCII art:

        The DMOZ Open Directory Project ASCII art sites:
          http://dmoz.org/Arts/ASCII/.

        Allen Mullen has links to many of these sites at:
          http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/2695/links.htm.

      The Ascii-Art Library at:     The Ascii-Art dot com at:
        http://www.ascii-art.de       http://www.ascii-art.com

    The Ascii-Art Document Archive (address as listed in the header)

    There is an on-line panel of experts at: The ASCIItorium
      http://www.ludd.luth.se/~vk/cgi/asciichat/

    And webrings:
      http://artcode.org/ascii/index.php
      http://webring.org/ascii/

    Also IRCascii.8bit:
      http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Marina/4942/ascii.htm
      http://www.bluedwarf.net/   (irc.bluedwarf.net#ascii)
      http://www.remorse.org/     (irc.efnet#ascii)


========================================================================
[21]  Historacle: from the old-old FAQ v1.2 March 14, 1994
========================================================================
    What types of ascii-art are there?

    o  Linedrawing - like stickmen
    o  Lettering - like Figlet does
    o  Grey scale pictures - These create the illusion of grey shades
       by using letters for their light emitting value.
       Here is an example of how they break down by light intensity:
       (Jorn Barger's light value scale)

                    Darker    .'`,^:";~    Lighter
           bright    /|\      -_+<>i!lI?     /|\      dark
          letters     |       /\|()1{}[]      |     letters
             on               rcvunxzjft               on
            dark      |       LCJUYXZO0Q      |      bright
         background  \|/      oahkbdpqwm     \|/   background
                    Lighter   *WMB8&%$#@   Darker

    o  3-D images - Can be viewable by people with similar vision in
       both eyes. You try to focus as if you are looking at the back
       of the monitor. The image should pop into focus and create a
       3-D illusion. Other 3-D images are viewed by putting your nose
       on the monitor glass.
    o  Geometric Article - Text is formed into meaningful shapes.
    o  Picture Poem - A geometric article that is also a poem.
    o  Page Making - Text and graphics are intermixed, as in a magazine.
    o  Picture Story - A story told with accompanying ASCII pictures.
    o  Color - You can view color ASCII pics, if you have a color screen
       and 'ANSI' color compatible software, or Web access using HTML.
    o  Color Graphics - You can view color ASCII pics if you have color
    o  Animation - take a look at         [dead-link snipped]
    o  Color Animation - take a look at   [dead-link snipped]
    o  Scroll Animation - This is an animation that is made to be viewed
       by scrolling down.  The image plays out as the screen is redrawn
       with the next 'page' of the image.
    o  Overstrike Art - It contains carriage returns without line feeds
       at times. The print head can overstrike a line on the paper that
       has already been printed on.  This allows for darkening, and for
       placing different characters at the same place on the paper.
       This kind of art is obviously only printed.

========================================================================
[X1]
-------------------THE ASCII ART FAQ TEN COMMANDMENTS-------------------

           \\\\`///
           /  _  _|                  1. Thou shalt read the FAQ.
          (\'('\/')                  2. Thou shalt not remove the
    ______/(    >(__                     initials from any ASCII art.
   /`-    \ \_=__| `\                3. Thou shalt not claim ownership
  /       /__(  _____\  _____            of someone else's ASCII art.
 /_ \.____    ,"     "."     ",__    4. Thou shalt read the FAQ.
|    /   _\__/_       -       /  \   5. Thou shalt ask permission
\/      /____  \ASCII ART FAQ ///        before using someone else's
 )     / /   \__\     -        |         ASCII art.
 '-.__|_/    ///| I      VI    |     6. Thou shalt not sell someone
      \_     |        |        |         else's ASCII art.
        |    |   II      VII   |     7. Thou shalt read the darn FAQ.
         \   |        |        |     8. Thou shalt not post someone
         /   |  III      VIII  |         else's ASCII art without making
         \   |        |        |         clear that you didn't make it.
          \_ |   IV      IX    |     9. Thou shalt not assume that
            \|        |        |         ASCII art isn't art at all.
             |    V      X     |    10. Thou shalt read the FAQing FAQ.
             |______b'ger______|

========================================================================
|||| | | | | |  |  |  |   |    |      |    |   |  |  |  | | | | | ||||
       END  O F   T  H   E     A   S  C  I  I   A  R T  FAQ
|||| | | | | |  |  |  |   |    |      |    |   |  |  |  | | | | | ||||

File: academy/faqs/faq_thomas.txt
http://www.ascii-art.de/info/faq_thomas.txt

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
FAQ: New to ASCII art? Read me first!

__  __          __                               _
\\  \\   / ___ '||  ___  ___ __  _  _   ___    _/|_ ___
 \\ /\\ / //_\) || // \)// \\ ||'||'|| //_\)    || // \\
  \/  \/  \\__,_||_\\__,\\_//_||_||_||_\\__,    \|_\\_//


         ___   __  ___  () ()      ___  _,_ _/|_
         __\\ (/_'// \)'||'|| ==== __\\'||\) ||
        ((_||_,_/)\\__,_||_||_    ((_||_||_  \|_

Answers to frequently asked questions in the ASCII art discussion groups
* news:alt.ascii-art * news:alt.ascii-art.animation * news:rec.arts.ascii

Author: Matthew Thomas
Version: 2.0
Last changed: 1998-05-10

NOTE: If you are new to Usenet News, please read the messages in
news.announce.newusers before posting to any discussion groups.

This FAQ is regularly posted to the newsgroups news:alt.ascii-art ,
news:rec.arts.ascii , and news:alt.ascii-art.animation.
It is also available at the following locations:
* http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/7373/faq.htm
* http://artpacks.acid.org/faqs/faq-altasciiart.html
* http://vibes.vossnet.co.uk/i/ighaig/ascfaq.htm.
* http://www.ascii-art.de/ascii/faq.html
* http://fmf.ml.org/~shimrod/asciiart/FAQ.html
* http://www.gwtc.net/~bakd/asciifaq.html
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Contents

     1. What is ASCII art?
     2. What isn't ASCII art?
     3. What goes on in the ASCII art discussion groups?
     4. How do I view ASCII art?
     5. How do I draw my own ASCII art?
     6. What should I know before posting ASCII art?
     7. Can I post to ask for some text drawn in ASCII?
     8. Can I post to ask for an ASCII art picture?
     9. How do I get an existing picture converted to ASCII art?
    10. Can I post or use other people's ASCII art?
    11. What should I know about signature files?
    12. Where can I find more ASCII art?

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

    1. What is ASCII art?

    ASCII art is any kind of artwork -- pictures, charts, cartoons,
    whatever -- drawn with the characters in the ASCII character set.

    The ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)
    character set is a set of 128 characters (0 to 127) which are standard
    on almost all types of computer. The only characters used in ASCII art
    are those with the values 32 to 126, which are shown below, and 13,
    which represents a carriage return (new line). The other characters in
    the ASCII character set (0-12, 13-31, and 127) are control codes for
    representing things such as `end of file' and `backspace'; they should
    not be used in ASCII art.

    032 [space] 048 0       064 @       080 P       096 `       112 p
    033 !       049 1       065 A       081 Q       097 a       113 q
    034 "       050 2       066 B       082 R       098 b       114 r
    035 #       051 3       067 C       083 S       099 c       115 s
    036 $       052 4       068 D       084 T       100 d       116 t
    037 %       053 5       069 E       085 U       101 e       117 u
    038 &       054 6       070 F       086 V       102 f       118 v
    039 '       055 7       071 G       087 W       103 g       119 w
    040 (       056 8       072 H       088 X       104 h       120 x
    041 )       057 9       073 I       089 Y       105 i       121 y
    042 *       058 :       074 J       090 Z       106 j       122 z
    043 +       059 ;       075 K       091 [       107 k       123 {
    044 ,       060 <       076 L       092 \       108 l       124 |
    045 -       061 =       077 M       093 ]       109 m       125 }
    046 .       062 >       078 N       094 ^       110 n       126 ~
    047 /       063 ?       079 O       095 _       111 o

    These characters are almost completely standard, except for a few
    slight variations which you should keep in mind when drawing and
    viewing ASCII art:

    # (hash/pound):
        a hash sign on most computers, a pound (£- currency) sign on some
        British ones
    | (bar):
        a vertical line in most fonts, but in some it is split in the
        middle
    ^ (caret):
        differs in size depending on the font used
    ~ (tilde):
        appears in the middle of the line in some fonts, at the top in
        others
    ' (apostrophe/single quote):
        tilts southwest-northeast in some fonts, is vertical in others
        (this also applies to the comma ,).

    Here's a small example of ASCII art using some of these variable
    characters: a snow-scene paperweight, drawn by Joan Stark. How good it
    looks will depend to some extent on which font and computer system you
    are using to view it.

              ____
           .-" +' "-.
          /.'.'A_'*`.\
         |:.*'/\-\. ':|
         |:.'.||"|.'*:|
          \:~^~^~^~^:/
           /`-....-'\
      jgs /          \
          `-.,____,.-'

    People use ASCII art for a variety of reasons, some of which are:
    * it is the most universal computer art form in the world -- every
    computer system capable of displaying multi-line text can display
    ASCII art, without needing to have a graphics mode or support a
    particular graphics file format;
    * an ASCII picture is also hundreds of times smaller in file size than
    its GIF or BMP equivalent, while still giving a good idea of what
    something looks like;
    * it is easy to copy from one file to another;
    * it's fun to do!

    2. What isn't ASCII art?

    The following specialized artforms are not ASCII art and are not
    welcome in the ASCII art discussion groups.

     1. ANSI or `extended ASCII' art. Many computer systems have an
        extended character set of 256 or more characters, based on the
        ANSI or Unicode character sets and having the first 128 characters
        identical to ASCII. These characters should not be used in ASCII
        art because many types of computer system do not support them, and
        even those that do may not display them in a standard way (for
        example, the Windows ANSI character set is different from the Mac
        ANSI character set).
     2. HTML art. HTML, the language used in Web pages, can be used to add
        special effects such as colours, font size, and blinking text to
        ascii art, and HTML can be read by some newsreaders. However, the
        key word here is `some'. To many newsreaders, HTML art will just
        appear as a jumble of <TAGS> and will be totally unrecognizable.

        If you want to create HTML art, do so by all means, but put it on
        a Web page and post the page address (URL) to the appropriate
        discussion group. Advice on how to do this can be found at http://
        www.geocities.com/SoHo/Studios/9334/asciionpage.htm.

     3. ASCII art animated using JavaScript. This relies not only on the
        newsreader being able to display HTML, but also being able to run
        JavaScript. As with HTML art, put it on a Web page and post the
        address to news:alt.ascii-art.animation.

    Not all "ASCII" is ASCII! Certain computer operating systems use their
    own specific character sets which are modified hybrids of the original
    128-character ASCII set. These "strains", if you will, have been
    deceivingly dubbed as "Extended ASCII" or "High ASCII" as they have
    added symbols beyond the first 128. Realize that while these extra
    characters may seem to give you more flexibility in your artwork, you
    are severely limiting your viewing audience to those who use the same
    operating system as you -- thus defeating the purpose of ASCII
    entirely!

    Please refrain from using these special characters in addition to the
    33 special control codes in the real ASCII character set. Remaining
    within the 32-126 range benefits everyone in a multitude of ways. Not
    only by maximizing the number of potential viewers, but it also
    ensures proper interpretation of your artwork by others and will alter
    the way they perceive your abilities. This is just one of the
    necessary disciplines of becoming a true ASCII artists. [RaD Man]


    3. What goes on in the ASCII art discussion groups??

    In the ASCII art discussion groups people discuss ASCII art, post
    ASCII pictures, post improved versions or variations of pictures other
    people have drawn, and generally have fun.

    Types of messages which we usually enjoy seeing include:

      □ look, here's an ASCII picture I drew ...
      □ REQ: xyz (ie, has anyone got any ASCII pictures of xyz?)
      □ suggestions on, or improvements of, other people's ASCII pictures
      □ hey-guys-love-your-work-type messages!

    Types of messages which we usually don't enjoy seeing include:

      □ messages with the subject `ASCII art' (try to be a bit more
        informative, please)
      □ make money fast!!! ... (yawn, yawn, snore)
      □ heres the adress of my web site, come see it pleez (why should
        we?)
      □ don't read this, this is a test (that's what alt.test, misc.test,
        and many other `test' newsgroups are for)

    There are three ASCII art discussion groups.

     1. news:alt.ascii-art is the main group, where most of the discussion
        takes place.
     2. news:rec.arts.ascii is identical in purpose to news:alt.ascii-art,
        but it is a moderated group -- all messages pass through an
        intermediary (the moderator) who checks them for appropriateness
        before sending them to the group itself. The advantage of this is
        that there isn't any unwanted advertising in the group; however,
        the frequency of postings to news:rec.arts.ascii is very low at
        the time of writing (it was resurrected in November 1997 after the
        previous moderator, Bob Allison (`Scarecrow') retired in December
        1996).

        If your news server isn't set up to allow direct posting to
        news:rec.arts.ascii, e-mail your message to the moderator, Don
        Bertino <bertino@netcom.com>.

     3. news:alt.ascii-art.animation is specifically for discussion and
        postings of animated ASCII art [see Question 12].


    4. How do I view ASCII art?

    If a picture you see posted to this newsgroup looks like a complete
    mess to you, don't panic. There are several reasons why it may look
    weird.

      □ If none of the pictures in the newsgroup look like what the sender
        describes them as, then you're probably using a proportional font.
        To view (and draw) ASCII art, you must use a fixed-width font --
        one where all characters are the same width (like on a
        typewriter). If you're not sure if your font is fixed-width or
        not, check the following two lines and see if they're the same
        length.

        iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii|
        mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm|

        If they aren't, find the option in your news reader which lets you
        specify which font to use. If you just have a choice between
        proportional and fixed width, choose fixed width. If you have a
        choice of which font to use, try different ones until you find a
        fixed-width one (using the `i's and `m's above as a guide).
        Popular fixed width fonts include Courier, Monaco, and Fixedsys;
        anything with `fixed' or `terminal' will probably be fixed-width.

        Some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) supply newsreaders to their
        customers which, strange as it seems, don't allow them to use a
        fixed-width font. If this applies to you, there's not much you can
        do except to ask them for a newsreader which does, or switch ISPs.

      □ If there are a lot of almost-blank lines in the picture, then the
        message is probably suffering from `wrapping'. This wrapping may
        be being done by your newsreader; see if it has an option called
        `wrap long lines' or similar, and make sure it is turned off. If
        this doesn't work, then the wrapping was probably done by the news
        program of the person who sent the picture, in which case there's
        not much you can do -- everybody else will be seeing the same
        thing.
      □ If there are a lot of < and > symbols in the picture, with words
        like HTML, FONT COLOR, B, I, and so on inside them, then the
        picture has been sent in HTML format (see Question 2), and your
        newsreader does not understand HTML (most newsreaders don't).
      □ If you still can't work out what the picture is supposed to be,
        try reducing the font size (if you can), and moving a couple of
        metres away. If it still looks unrecognizable, then it's probably
        a problem with the news program used by the person who sent the
        message -- or maybe it's just a really bad picture!

    5. How do I draw my own ASCII art?

    You don't need a special program to draw ASCII art with. It can be
    drawn using any text editor, such as SimpleText or BBEdit in MacOS,
    Notepad in Windows, nedit, vi, or pico in Unix, BEd or AZ in AmigaOS,
    edit in DOS, or any of the various Emacs editors. You can use a word
    processor to draw ASCII art, but remember: (1) use a fixed-width font
    (see Question 4); and (2) using any special formatting (bold/italic/
    coloured etc) is a waste of time, as it will be lost when you post the
    picture.

    There are some features of editors/word processors which can help when
    drawing ASCII art.

      □ Overtype, also known as overstrike: removes the need for you to
        constantly realign characters using the Backspace, Space, and
        Delete keys. Try the Insert key if there is one on your keyboard,
        or look in your program's Options or Preferences.
      □ Rectangular copy and paste: allows you to select rectangular
        sections of text (not just rows or parts of rows). On programs
        which have this feature, it is usually done by holding down a key
        such as Ctrl while selecting text.
      □ Find/Change: allows you to change all the characters of one type
        to another (eg all the ~s to "s).

    But before you start, a word about fonts. For ASCII art you should use
    a fixed-width font (see Question 4), because every type of computer
    system is guaranteed to have one, and that after all is one of the
    main reasons ASCII art exists -- because everyone can view it.
    Different fixed-width fonts do vary slightly in the height of the
    characters, but for most drawings this doesn't matter that much.

    DON'T try to post pictures drawn in a proportional-width (ie
    non-fixed- width) font: even if you specify the exact font you used,
    the chances of other people being able to read it are pretty slim
    (even `standard' proportional fonts such as Times New Roman can vary
    in width from computer to computer).

    The other thing to be aware of with fonts is the difference between
    serif and sans serif. Here's roughly how an `m' looks in both:

    __ __   __        __   __
     |/  \ /  \     |/  \ /  \
     |    |    |    |    |    |
     |    |    |    |    |    |
    _|_  _|_  _|_   |    |    |

        Serif        Sans serif

    The serif version has little strokes, or serifs, at the end of most of
    the main strokes, while the sans serif version doesn't (sans means
    `without'). For example, Courier is a serif font, and Monaco is sans
    serif. This isn't often important, but if you're using a sans serif
    font, just remember to use the vertical bar (|, above \ on most
    keyboards) to draw vertical lines, and not the capital i (I),
    otherwise it will look weird for people using serif fonts. It also
    means that you should think carefully before using characters like L
    and 7 for various corners -- they won't always look that good with a
    serif font.

    One way to make drawing ASCII art easier is to type a row of spaces
    for however wide you want your picture, and then copy this row and
    paste it for however many rows high you think your art will get. Then
    turn overtype on, stick your cursor somewhere in the middle, and
    you're ready to draw.

    If nothing springs to mind immediately, start with the ASCII art
    equivalent of the stick figure:

     O
    /H\  Person
    / \

    Fiddle with it, and see what you can do...

     A                    _                o            _
     O   Person wearing   O`              _O_          (< =  Person about
    /H\  a dunce's hat   /H\  Professor   XHX  Angel   /H-'  to eat a
    / \                  / \              / \          / \   sandwich...?

    Gradually you'll be able to add things like scenery around the person:

     ___  ,---.
    / __\/---. ._,
     /  \@-.  -(_)-
         @     ' `    Person playing a banjo
        ,P            while sitting against a
        d'O_,     MT  palm tree ...
    ____@/|/________
    ::::@\O_,:::::::
    ::::::::::::::::

    Draw your cat, your toaster, your musical instruments, your partner,
    anything that will sit still long enough -- practice makes, if not
    perfect, then at least pretty good. Whether you do small drawings
    (less work involved) or large ones (easier to make a drawing
    recognizable) is up to you.

    The things which give beginning ASCII artists the most trouble are
    usually diagonal lines and circles. Here are some lines of various
    angles:

    |   |   /      ,'      ,-'     _,-'
    |  .'  /     ,'     ,-'    _,-'
    |  |  /    ,'    ,-'   _,-'          __..--""
    | .' /   ,'   ,-'  _,-'      __..--""
    | | /  ,'  ,-'  ,-'  __..--"" _______________

    And here are a few circular shapes:

                                               _____              __
                                            .-'     `-.        ,dP""Yb,
                                          .'           `.    ,d"      "b,
                                         /               \   d'    _   `Y,
                                 _      ;                 ;  8     8    `b
                      __      ,'" "`.   |                 |  `b,_,aP     P
              __    ,'  `.   /       \  ;                 ;    """"     d'
            .'  `. /      |  |       |   \               /            ,P"
         _  |    | |      /  \       /    `.           .'     a,.__,aP"
    . o (_) `.__.'  `.__.'    `.___.'       `-._____.-'        `"""''

    The spiral is a good example of anti-aliasing -- using the particular
    shape of some characters (especially b, d, and P) to smooth the edge
    of a solid shape.

    A final point: don't use the Tab key. Pressing Tab will go along a
    certain number of spaces in your editor/word processor -- but that
    `certain number' is different for different newsreaders, editors, and
    so on, so your picture may suffer from what is known as `tab damage'
    when other people try to view it. Just use spaces instead.

    Here are a couple links to existing ASCII art tutorials:
    http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/7373/dcau.htm (Daniel Au's Tutorial)
    http://www.inetw.net/~mullen/asciiart.htm (Allen Mullen's Site-
    several tutorials)



    6. What should I know before posting ASCII art?

    It doesn't matter if it's not particularly good -- we'd like to see it
    anyway. We won't be rude about it (although you'd better tell us what
    it is, or we might ask :-), but if it shows potential, you may find
    that other people will `re-diddle' it -- change a few characters, make
    it a bit better, and re-post it.

    HOWEVER, there are a few things you should check before you post any
    piece of ASCII art.

      □ Are you sending it as plain text? Some news programs, particularly
        those built in to Web browsers, read and write messages in HTML
        (HyperText Markup Language, the language which Web pages are
        written in). HTML allows colours and (using JavaScript) animations
        in ASCII art, but few newsreaders support it, and those which
        don't will show a whole lot of garbage text with your picture
        hidden inside it.

        So if you have one of these HTML-sending programs, PLEASE select
        the option which tells it to send messages as plain text only. If
        you have a picture which uses HTML for a particular feature (such
        as colours or animation), put it on a Web page, and post the URL
        of the page to alt.ascii-art, rather than posting the whole
        picture.

      □ Is it under 72 characters wide? Most news readers can only show
        lines which are under either 72, 76, or 80 characters wide, so if
        your picture is wider than 72 characters it may get wrapped (see
        Question 4). Also remove any unnecessary space characters from the
        end of each line of the picture, to prevent lines from being too
        long (and getting wrapped) without your realizing.


      □ Have you used any control codes? Inserting control codes (ASCII
        characters 0 to 31) in a picture can sometimes achieve interesting
        effects on your computer screen or news reader, such as reversing
        text, changing its colour, and so on. DO NOT post any of these
        pictures to alt.ascii-art, for two reasons:
         1. the effects that the control codes have on your news reader
            are almost certainly going to be different from those on the
            thousands of other news readers that other people use
         2. on some news readers, control codes can cause messed up
            displays, messages not appearing, or (in some cases) the news
            reader crashing.
      □ If your first line starts with one or more spaces, stick a dummy
        line (such as -- or .) above it, to prevent the spaces from being
        ignored by your news program (this only applies to some news
        programs, and only to the first line of the message).

    If you're not sure about whether your message will turn out ok, post
    it to a test newsgroup (such as news:alt.test or news:misc.test) first
    and make sure (using a different newsreader, if you can) that you can
    read it ok.

    [See Question 10 for advice on posting someone else's ASCII art.]


    7. Can I post to ask for some text drawn in ASCII?

    Probably not, unless we're REALLY bored. The reason for this is that
    there is a program called Figlet which does that sort of thing
    automatically -- you type in `Jane Smith', and you get back

        ___              __,
       ( /              (          o _/_ /
        / __,  _   _     `.  _ _  ,  /  /_
      _/_(_/(_/ /_(/_  (___)/ / /_(_(__/ /_
     //
    (/

    in this and a whole lot of other fonts (lettering styles). The ASCII
    text-art produced by Figlet can be quite stunning, so it's best to try
    it first before asking for help from the newsgroup.

    The Figlet home page is at http://st-www.cs.uiuc.edu/users/chai/
    figlet.html. This site links to the FTP site ftp://ftp.internexus.net/
    pub/figlet where you can download versions of the program for many
    different platforms.

    If you have a Web browser which has form support (most browsers do),
    you can run Figlet on the Internet by going to one of the following
    sites and choosing your text and options on the Web page. Different
    sites offer different options (eg multiple fonts at once,
    justification, line length etc). Some of these sites also provide an
    e-mail Figlet service for people with browsers which don't support
    forms.

      □ http://www.surfplaza.com/figlet/
      □ http://wwwcn.cern.ch/~rigaut/FigletJava.html
      □ http://www.schnoggo.com/figlet.html
      □ http://www.inf.utfsm.cl/cgi-bin/figlet/
      □ http://saigon.mit.edu/dinhyen/figlet/figlet.html
      □ http://www.mediacube.de/cgi-bin/moniteurs/figlet/
      □ http://www.sconnect.net/figlet/index.cgi
      □ http://boulder.Colorado.EDU/~kai/figlet.html
      □ http://www.ifi.unizh.ch/cgi-bin/bwagner/FIGLET/figlet.pl
      □ http://www.se.cuhk.edu.hk/~mcchau3/cgi-bin/express.html
      □ http://www.webserve.com/gateways/figletgateway.pl

    (Thanks to Shimrod and Veronica Karlsson for the original list.)

    If Figlet doesn't produce the kind of results you want, THEN you can
    post to the newsgroup with your request. Make sure that you include:

      □ the fact that you have already tried Figlet, or don't have access
        to it
        (otherwise you will probably just get told to use it)
      □ a description of the kind of lettering you want, along with any
        other symbols or logos which you would like incorporated into it.



    8. Can I post to ask for an ASCII art picture?

    Yes, if we find it interesting. Give your request the subject `REQ:
    xyz' if you're looking for a picture of an xyz, then in the message
    describe more exactly what you're looking for. Generally, the more
    specific you are, the more likely you are to get someone to draw what
    you want: if you just say something like `can someone draw me a fish'
    then you're not likely to get many replies, because people won't be
    sure whether or not they're wasting their time by drawing something
    you won't want. If you don't have Web access, mention this fact,
    otherwise you may get replies consisting only of URLs for the kind of
    pictures you're looking for.



    9. How do I get an existing picture converted to ASCII art?

    There are computer programs which convert graphics files of a
    particular format (usually GIF) to ASCII art. They go by names such as
    ascgif, gifa, gifscii, and gif2ascii. Do a Web search for any of these
    programs to find places where you can download them. Try:

      □ gopher://twinbrook.cis.uab.edu/1A/atools.70
      □ ftp://ftp.wwa.com/pub/Scarecrow/Gifscii/.

    However, the output from these programs is often not good (fiddling
    with the picture in an image-editing program beforehand may help). In
    this case, you can post a request to the newsgroup asking for someone
    to `asciify' it, but please don't post the picture itself. To save
    downloading time for people reading the messages, if possible give the
    URL (Web address) of the picture instead.

    If you saw the picture on a Web page, you can find out its URL by
    right- clicking on it (on the Macintosh, holding down the mouse
    button) and selecting `Open this image' (or its equivalent for your
    Web browser), then copy the URL from the Location bar to your news
    program (make sure you copy it exactly).

    If the picture is not on a Web site anywhere, put it up on your own
    site (if you have one), or get a friend to put it up on their site,
    and post the URL to alt.ascii-art. If you can't do this, post your
    request to alt.ascii-art and wait for an artist to reply, then e-mail
    the picture to them.


    10. Can I post or use other people's ASCII art?

    Don't assume that if somebody posts something to a newsgroup, that
    gives you the right to use it however you like; copyright laws still
    apply. For more information, see the article `Copyright Myths FAQ: 10
    big myths about copyright explained' in news:news.announce.newusers.
    (It is also available at http://www.clari.net/brad/copymyths.html.)

    ASCII art is often an exception to this rule, though: generally, ASCII
    artists don't mind if you copy their pictures and repost them or put
    them on your own Web site for your personal use. There are a few
    important conditions, however.

      □ If the picture contains a few letters in one corner which don't
        seem to be part of the picture, they're the artist's initials. DO
        NOT remove these initials -- would you cut away the part of a Van
        Gogh painting containing his name? Leaving the initials on is a
        small price to pay for being able to use the picture for free.
      □ If you're going to use a picture in your signature file, or in a
        place (such as a log-in screen) which means you're going to be
        using it a lot, you should really e-mail the artist (or post to
        the newsgroup, if you don't know their address) and ask for
        permission, because otherwise people may get the mistaken
        impression that you were the one who drew the picture.

    As for posting other people's ASCII art, after a discussion in
    news:alt.ascii-art the following rules were agreed upon:

     1. If an ASCII ART picture has initials on it, leave them on when
        posting it.
     2. If an ASCII ART picture doesn't have initials on it, mention that
        you didn't draw it when posting it.
     3. If somebody posts a picture without initials and you have an
        original copy with initials, feel free to repost the original
        version. The repost ought not to be taken personally, as we all
        know that ASCII art often loses proper credits. Responses to the
        repost are not necessary.

        [Donovan]



    11. What should I know about signature files?

    A signature file (or `sig' for short) is a small, personalized text
    file which an e-mail or news program adds to the end of every message
    a person sends -- the equivalent of a letterhead for dead-tree (paper)
    mail. Usually it contains little more than the person's name,
    organization, and e-mail address, and an inspirational quote of some
    sort; but some people like to incorporate ASCII art into their
    signature files as well.

    The biggest problem that this causes is the number of lines that the
    signature file takes up. This is a topic which, despite its lack of
    importance in relation to global warming, violence in society, and so
    on, can be the subject of heated arguments. To summarize, (almost)
    no-one will complain if your signature file is four lines long or
    fewer -- and it is quite possible to draw good ASCII pictures which
    are that small. Some examples are at:

      □ http://wwwtios.cs.utwente.nl/~kenter/sigs.html
      □ http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/7373/sigs.htm.

    Some e-mail programs don't allow you to have a signature file which is
    longer than four lines, while others just complain. Five or six lines
    is usually acceptable, but any longer, and you're starting to take the
    risk that your signature will be longer than some of your e-mail
    messages; this wouldn't really make sense on paper, so it isn't really
    acceptable in cyberspace either. The exception is in messages posted
    to alt.ascii-art itself -- we're used to seeing long sigs, so we won't
    complain.

    But no matter what the length of your signature, make sure it's fewer
    than 72 characters wide, otherwise it may end up a horrible mess --
    see Question 6.


    12. Where can I find more ASCII art?

    Lots of ASCII artists put up libraries of their own and others' ASCII
    art on their Web sites,
    as well as tutorials on how to draw ASCII art. Allen Mullen has links
    to many of these sites at
    http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/2695/links.htm.
    Yahoo also has a page dedicated to ASCII art, at http://www.yahoo.com/
    Arts/Visual_Arts/Computer_Generated/ASCII_Art/.
    And try Joan Stark's Web site: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/7373/.

    To find out how to animate ASCII art using JavaScript, see
    http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Marina/4942/faq_hta.htm
    http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Studios/9334/animlesson.htm.

THE END

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
This document may be freely copied as long as Matthew Thomas is identified
as the original author.


-------------------THE ASCII ART FAQ TEN COMMANDMENTS-------------------

           \\\\`///
           /  _  _|                  1. Thou shalt read the FAQ.
          (\'('\/')                  2. Thou shalt not remove the
    ______/(    >(__                     initials from any ASCII art.
   /`-    \ \_=__| `\                3. Thou shalt not claim ownership
  /       /__(  _____\  _____            of someone else's ASCII art.
 /_ \.____    ,"     "."     ",__    4. Thou shalt read the FAQ.
|    /   _\__/_       -       /  \   5. Thou shalt ask permission
\/      /____  \ASCII ART FAQ  ///       before using someone else's
 )     / /   \__\     -        |         ASCII art.
 '-.__|_/    ///| I      VI    |     6. Thou shalt not sell someone
      \_     |        |        |         else's ASCII art.
        |    |   II      VII   |     7. Thou shalt read the darn FAQ.
         \   |        |        |     8. Thou shalt not post post someone
         /   |  III      VIII  |         else's ASCII art without making
         \   |        |        |         clear that you didn't make it.
          \_ |   IV      IX    |     9. Thou shalt not assume that
            \|        |        |         ASCII art isn't art at all.
             |    V      X     |     10. Thou shalt read the FAQing FAQ.
             |______b'ger______|

-----------[Joris Bellenger, Colin Douthwaite, Matthew Thomas]----------