[Info-vax] VMS-based InfoServer

[MetaEd]

On Aug 5, 2:20 pm, hel... at astro.multiCLOTHESvax.de (Phillip Helbig---
undress to reply) wrote:
> There is a simpler solution: if you don't want
> to collapse it, DON'T COLLAPSE IT.

Suppose I write a message and I use multiple spaces to align content
into columns. I don't want the spaces collapsed, so of course I don't
collapse it. But I am only the sender. The collapse occurs on the
receiving terminal, which I do not control.

This is the dilemma. If my message is sent unchanged, the receiving
equipment will sometimes screw up my formatting by collapsing the
spaces. But if my message is changed to use NBSP, some legacy
receiving equipment will sometimes screw up my formatting by
displaying =A0 instead of space spaces. Actually, it's a trilemma. If
my message is sent using an 8-bit code, the legacy receiving equipment
will not display an =A0, but might get broken in other ways.