From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: "Robert J. Chassell" Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel Subject: Re: ChangeLog conventions: fill-column Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 21:31:17 +0000 (UTC) Message-ID: References: <87psieggla.fsf@lrde.org> <87ejykoael.fsf@lrde.org> Reply-To: bob@rattlesnake.com NNTP-Posting-Host: main.gmane.org X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1148419906 27594 80.91.229.2 (23 May 2006 21:31:46 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 21:31:46 +0000 (UTC) Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Tue May 23 23:31:41 2006 Return-path: Envelope-to: ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([199.232.76.165]) by ciao.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1FieTa-0007qC-Sc for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Tue, 23 May 2006 23:31:39 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1FieTa-00009d-DB for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Tue, 23 May 2006 17:31:38 -0400 Original-Received: from mailman by lists.gnu.org with tmda-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1FieTM-00007b-93 for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Tue, 23 May 2006 17:31:24 -0400 Original-Received: from exim by lists.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1FieTK-00006l-Dk for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Tue, 23 May 2006 17:31:23 -0400 Original-Received: from [199.232.76.173] (helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1FieTK-00006c-69 for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Tue, 23 May 2006 17:31:22 -0400 Original-Received: from [69.168.108.225] (helo=rattlesnake.com) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.52) id 1FieXc-0004bF-Lj for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Tue, 23 May 2006 17:35:48 -0400 Original-Received: by rattlesnake.com via sendmail from stdin id (Debian Smail3.2.0.115) Tue, 23 May 2006 21:31:17 +0000 (UTC) Original-To: emacs-devel@gnu.org In-reply-to: <87ejykoael.fsf@lrde.org> (michael.cadilhac@lrde.org) X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: "Emacs development discussions." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Original-Sender: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Errors-To: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.devel:55159 Archived-At: ... such a `fill-column' was used only in mails or news to allow easy replies under 80 columns. > I don't see the point here, any clue ? Nobody ? If there's no rational, why not put this limit to 79 in add-log.el ? There is at least one rationale besides the 500 year old one having to do with the abilities or inabilities of your and my eyes -- even with lots of interline spacing, a long line makes it hard to discover the beginning of the next line. Besides that rationale, the problem that effects me is most frequently -- more frequently than I like -- is that some one quotes an item in a message to my friend Joe and he quotes it in a message to me. Quotes are supposed to reflect what the original writer said and not be corrupted by filling or anything like that (although they often are). I hate to say it, but you really do not want a fill-column of more than 72. 70 is the standard based on regular computer monitors. Printed books usually display less inter-line spacing and shorter lines. (The convention is `twice the length of an alphabet plus major punctuation'. For English, that produces a line 60 or 61 characters wide, depending on whether you consider a hyphen to be `major punctuation'. When you have more interline white space, as computer displays do, then you can have more characters on a line.) -- Robert J. Chassell bob@rattlesnake.com GnuPG Key ID: 004B4AC8 http://www.rattlesnake.com http://www.teak.cc