From bobrankin@MHV.NET Wed Oct 15 12:25:59 1997
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 1997 03:04:28 -0400
From: Bob Rankin
To: TOURBUS@LISTSERV.AOL.COM
Subject: TOURBUS - 14 Oct 1997 - ASCII Art
_________ ____________ ________ __________ _____________ ___ _
/ | / | | / | \
| | W-O-W, I-T-'S F-R-E-E ! | / | \
|__________|__________/__________|__________|___________/ | \
/ /______|----\
| Get the latest news and tips on MICROSOFT OFFICE |//////| |
| Free weekly guide from award winning Woody Leonhard |//////| |
| *** Rated 5 stars by "Office Computing" magazine *** |//////| |
| Join now! WOW@wopr.com -or- |//////| |
\________________________________________________________|______|____|
/ \ / \ / \
\___/ \___/ T h e I n t e r n e t T o u r B u s \___/
TODAY'S TOURBUS TOPIC: ASCII Art
Long before the advent of the Web and all of its glittering
graphics, people were creating computer graphics of a different
sort that required no special hardware or software to view. This
"ASCII art" can be sent by e-mail without encoding or attachments
because it's composed only of plain text characters.
I like the idea of delivering high tech stuff in a low tech medium.
That's why I recommend you check out the WOW newsletter (see bus logo
above) if you're a Microsoft Office user. WOW keeps you current with
the latest Office news, tips & tricks. And now they're celebrating
WOW's birthday with prizes for lucky readers. Check it out!
+---------------------- BUYINGUIDE HAS ANSWERS ---------------------+
Sometimes finding the right software or hardware for the job is a
monumental task. There are so many questions that the job becomes
overwhelming. BuyinGuide has the answers to all your questions.
We have information on hardware, software, REVIEWS,
and giveaways in an easy to use, unbiased format.
+-------------------- ------------------+
ASCII art is a unique form of expression ranging from the simple
to the very complex. Using only the characters on your keyboard
and some creativity, you can create images that are cute, funny
or intricately beautiful.
One caveat - you must use a MONOSPACE FONT such as Courier in order
to view ASCII artwork. If your e-mail program doesn't allow you to
change the font, save this message as file and view it with a word
processor that allows you to set the font. (The term ASCII refers
to a standard set of characters that are supposed to display the same
on any computer.)
SMILIES
-------
Smilies, sometimes called emoticons, are the most basic form of
ASCII art. Smilies are textual representations of emotions that
people commonly use in their e-mail. They^Òre one way to express
emotion in the otherwise emotionless world of e-mail. When you see
a bunch of dashes, parentheses, and other punctuation marks that
don^Òt seem to make sense, try turning your head sideways. Smileys
like the ones in the list below, are great ways to overcome the
impersonal nature of the electronic medium.
:-) Smile
;-) Wink
:-( Frown
These are the most common smilies, but there are dozens more. You can
find a large collection on the web at
or get Don Z'Boray's Unofficial Smiley FAQ by sending e-mail to
SMILEYS@Newbie.NET.
COWS AND OTHER STUFF
--------------------
One favorite subject of the ASCII artists is animals. Many people
use them in e-mail or Usenet signature files just for fun. The
eagle and the cat below are classic examples.
.---. .----------
/ \ __ / ------
/ / \( )/ -----
////// ' \/ ` ---
//// / // : : ---
// / / /` '--
// //..\\
====UU====UU====
'//||\\`
''``
("`-''-/").___..--''"`-._
`6_ 6 ) `-. ( ).`-.__.`)
(_Y_.)' ._ ) `._ `. ``-..-'
_..`--'_..-_/ /--'_.' ,'
(il),-'' (li),' ((!.-'
There are also quite a few people who enjoy portraying cows
ala keyboard. I've seen some hilarious ASCII cows, like these
floating around in cyberspace.
(__)
(oo) When cows laugh really hard,
/-------\/ does milk come out their nose?
/ | ||
* ||w---||
^^ ^^
(__)
(oo) Mathematical Cow
/---------\/ (Developer of cow-culus)
/ | x=a(b)||
* ||------||
~~ ~~
If you need a good chuckle, visit David Bader's COMPLETE GUIDE TO COWS,
which is a large collection of ASCII cows on the web at
FIGLETS
-------
A figlet is a way to make large letters out of ordinary text. A
program called FIGLET can use a variety of special effects to
create text
| (_) | _____ | |_| |__ (_)___
| | | |/ / _ \ | __| '_ \| / __|
| | | < __/ | |_| | | | \__ \
|_|_|_|\_\___| \__|_| |_|_|___/
_ _ _ _ _ _
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \
( o | r ) ( t | h | i | s )
\_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/
You can learn all about figlets and create your own by visiting
E-mail users can send a message to Michel.Eftimakis@vlsi.COM
with "Figlet: Help" in the Subject line (leave off the quotes).
This is an automated service, but if you don't put the command
exactly as shown in the Subject line of your note, it will drop
into Michel's private mailbox and will probably get deleted.
ADVANCED ASCII ARTWORK
----------------------
. .'
:`...' `.,' '
`. ' .**. ; ; ':
` ``:`****,' .' :
..::. ``**":.'' `. The examples so far have
.: `: ; `,' : been pretty basic, but there
`: ` : ; are ASCII artists who produce
: : : ; some pretty amazing images.
: : : .:
: : :..,' ``::.
`....:..' ..:;''
.: . ...:::: This rose is just one example
,'''''``::::::: of the work you can sample
`:::: at the Signature Museum.
`::.
`::
. ,. ::::' ,..
.'.' ``. :: .'.. `.
' .: :: ,'.' .
.' ,' .:::::: ,.' .:::.
.' .' ..:' ::: ., .;' ~
,;::;.::'' ::.:..::'
~ ::;'
:: The ASCII Art section there
,::: has pages devoted to
::. Animals, Christmas, Easter,
:: Flora, Love. Misc, Music
:: and People. Find it at
::
JOIN THE CLUB
-------------
Wanna talk to others who are into ASCII art? Join the ASCIIART mailing
list by sending SUBSCRIBE ASCIIART to LISTSERV@LSV.UKY.EDU or visit
the Usenet newsgroup "alt.ascii-art". As with any online discussion
group, it's good form to listen for a while before you jump in with a
posting of your own.
Have a little fun with ASCII art. It's a wonderful low-tech medium
to express yourself!
/ _\ ___ ___ /\_/\___ _ _ / / __ _| |_ ___ _ __ / \
\ \ / _ \/ _ \ \_ _/ _ \| | | | / / / _` | __/ _ \ '__// /
_\ \ __/ __/ / \ (_) | |_| | / /__| (_| | || __/ | /\_/
\__/\___|\___| \_/\___/ \__,_| \____/\__,_|\__\___|_| \/ --Bob
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I Feel Your Pain - But There Is A Cure!
--> "Doctor Bob's Painless Guide To The Internet" <--
A NetGuide Magazine Hot Product of the Month
Browse reviews & sample chapters at
--------------------------------------------------------------------
=====================[ Tourbus Rider Information ]===================
The Internet Tourbus - U.S. Library of Congress ISSN #1094-2238
Copyright 1995-97, Rankin & Crispen - All rights reserved
Archives on the Web at http://www.TOURBUS.com
Join: Send SUBSCRIBE TOURBUS Your Name to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.AOL.COM
Leave: Send SIGNOFF TOURBUS to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.AOL.COM
=====================================================================
