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From: jc@cdx39.UUCP
Newsgroups: mod.protocols
Subject: Re: Re: Formatting Query
Message-ID: <8609182124.AA13631556@rclex.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 18-Sep-86 17:24:43 EDT
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Posted: Thu Sep 18 17:24:43 1986
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> My system (a Xerox Star) displays mail in a proportionally spaced font,
> making all diagrams hard to read without changing the font.
> I'm not sure if this is a bug or a feature, however.
> 
> In general, I think that having the mailer expand the tabs would be a bad
> idea.  There might be reasons for wanting the tabs in the message and it shouldn't
> be impossible to do this.  

For those of us using many Unix systems, there is a very good reason.
I keep finding myself helping people who can't get make(1) to work,
and can't see anything wrong with their makefiles.  Invariably, what
turns out to be wrong is that something has expanded the tabs into
spaces.  Most (but not all) versions of make *require* that rule 
lines start with a TAB, and spaces aren't acceptable.  Anything 
that expands tabs will destroy a makefile.

Recently, someone installed a great new editor on a lot of systems
around here, and it expands tabs to spaces....