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From: inc@fluke.UUCP (Gary Benson)
Newsgroups: net.internat
Subject: Hyphenation (don't do it)
Message-ID: <737@tpvax.fluke.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 2-Dec-85 13:36:29 EST
Article-I.D.: tpvax.737
Posted: Mon Dec  2 13:36:29 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 5-Dec-85 07:21:04 EST
References: <471@harvard.ARPA> <773@mmintl.UUCP> <968@enea.UUCP> <501@harvard.ARPA> <795@mmintl.UUCP> <3353@brl-tgr.ARPA>
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Organization: John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc., Everett, WA
Lines: 35

> Actually, it seems to me that you are using this hyphenation difficulty
> in the wrong way. Instead of going to great lengths to overcome it, you
> could instead use it as a tool to eliminate the bad and noxious practice
> of hyphenation itself!
> 
> . . . many excellent arguments . . .
>
> Don't cooperate! Instead of making an effort to get the machines to do
> what the people say they want, instead expend that same effort to
> convince the people that they need no longer indulge in the antiquated
> custom of hyphenating at all.

Good Show!! I am the author of one of the (many) articles about how to make
the machine do what everyone assumes is a needed task: breaking up words
into unreadable chunks. It has long been known that "ragged right" text is
more readable, and the people holding us to it are those who are regimented
and think it "looks better". While I agree whole heartedly with much of your
well-reasoned approach, I also feel it may not be as simple to implement the
demise of an odious practice...

Look at the newspaper business... over the years, they have found that to
compete successfully they need a range of front page stories - something to
entice a buy by persons having a variety of interests. If there is no
hypehenation, does that not preordain column widths greater than 40 or so
characters? And if the columns must be wider, then won't there be fewer
stories? Or at least shorter ones before the "(see page C-23)" message?
It seems like there may be a dilemna in the newspaper business that is
actually best answered by hyphenation, however distateful and hard to read.



-- 
 Gary Benson  *  John Fluke Mfg. Co.  *  PO Box C9090  *  Everett WA  *  98206
   MS/232-E  = =   {allegra} {uw-beaver} !fluke!inc   = =   (206)356-5367
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