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Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watnot!watmath!clyde!rutgers!husc6!Diamond!mlandau
From: mlandau@Diamond.UUCP
Newsgroups: news.software.b
Subject: Re: .signature line limit
Message-ID: <4870@garnet.Diamond.BBN.COM>
Date: Sun, 22-Mar-87 13:37:26 EST
Article-I.D.: garnet.4870
Posted: Sun Mar 22 13:37:26 1987
Date-Received: Mon, 23-Mar-87 07:18:29 EST
References: <1893@uwmcsd1.UUCP>
Reply-To: mlandau@Diamond.BBN.COM (Matt Landau)
Distribution: na
Organization: BBN Laboratories, Inc., Cambridge, MA
Lines: 19
Summary: Wrong assumptions

In news.software.b (<1893@uwmcsd1.UUCP>), jgd@uwmcsd1.UUCP (John G Dobnick) 
writes:
>
>As I see it, the purpose of the .signature limit is to reduce the "size"
>of the signature portion of a message.  Admittedly, some individuals have
>gone a little overboard here, but limiting the signature to four *lines* misses
>the point.  What we *really* want to do is limit the number of *characters*
>allowed in a .signature file.  

Well, that's not really true.  The purpose of the 4-line limit is to reduce
BOTH the number of lines and the number of characters.  One of the problems
it tries to solve is the all-too-common instance of a 5-line message with
a 15-line signature attached.  Just try reading a couple dozen of those at
1200 baud, then see if you still think that reducing the line count of
signatures isn't important.  
-- 
 Matt Landau      	 		BBN Laboratories, Inc.
    mlandau@diamond.bbn.com		10 Moulton Street, Cambridge MA 02238
 ...seismo!diamond.bbn.com!mlandau      (617) 497-2429