[msb@sq.com (Mark Brader)] Missing-characters file: Not the only ones with that problem

[Matthew Hunt <mph@pobox.com>]

------- Start of forwarded message -------
Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 04:39:08 EST
From: msb@sq.com (Mark Brader)
Subject: Missing-characters file: Not the only ones with that problem

A *Houston Chronicle* article by Dwight Silverman was forwarded to
comp.dcom.telecom by Tad Cook a few weeks ago.  It was about various changes
that Southwestern Bell, the phone company there, is planning to make in
their directories.

One of the changes is that they plan to list e-mail and WWW addresses for
businesses that want to supply them.  However, this will not be possible for
residential listings at first -- I swear, this is just how the posting
appeared -- because

#  "Right now we have a certain system constraint in our residential
#  listings database that prevents us from printing certain characters on
#  a page," Hillyer said. "The biggest problem is that we can't print the
#  sign."
#  
#  The sign is a crucial part of all e-mail addresses, separating the
#  user's name from the computer system -- or domain -- he uses.
-- 
Mark Brader, msb@sq.com         "But I do't have a '' key o my termial."
SoftQuad Inc., Toronto                                     -- Ly[nn] Gold

  [Southwestern Bell evidently needs a noncommercial 
  source for obtaining its commercial-at (@) characters.------- End of forwarded message -------