MvdV> Blame the Fidonews editor. Articles published in Fidonews are still
 MvdV> limited to a maximum line length of 70 characters. :)

   That is not really true, but I understand why you think so.

   The real fact is, that the program that's compiled the Fidonews from year
three(?) -- MAKENEWS.EXE -- originally had several limitations. One of them was
the line length limit of 70.

   In 2001 the then Fidonews editor Frank Vest an I had many netmail exchanges
about the limitations, but then in particular about the ASCII only requirement.
So I spent several hours in DEBUG, hacking the original EXE file, finding and
removing that stupid ASCII only limitation. The result you have been able to
enjoy for almost two decades now.

   But I didn't go for any of the printer related code -- line and page length
-- because by then it was still quite popular to print out the Snooze on your
printer.

   Ergo, the printer related code are still there. If anyone feels like it,
feel free to produce a modern MAKENEWS.EXE file, and I'll be happy to not only
use it, but just like Frank Vest two decades ago, partly thanks to my hack,
pass on the baton to the next Fidonews editor.

   I've now been the editor for much longer than all of the previous Fidonews
editors in total, so I think it's about time to contemplate my retirement...




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