# What the deal with odd unrecognized characters in thread titles? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [March 24, 2014, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-deal-with-odd-unrecognized-characters-in-thread-titles/684437 "2014-03-24T13:45:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-deal-with-odd-unrecognized-characters-in-thread-titles/684437/1 "2014-03-24T13:45:50Z")
I see four boxes with 26/06 printed in them and then “for Dallas Buyers”. How did someone get unrecognized fonts in a thread title? Is it supposed to display something Firefox can display? What character is 26/06? I’ve seen a couple other threads like this. just curious what’s up. > **[☆☆☆☆ for Dallas Buyers Club](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=716082)** > > My wife, daughter and I saw it last night. A very good story, with excellent acting by Matthew McConaughey. The ending was a little abrupt, though. Still, a good movie that I’d recommend. What are your thoughts? As for the other Best Picture... ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-deal-with-odd-unrecognized-characters-in-thread-titles/684437/2 "2014-03-24T13:56:14Z")
That thread title is showing five stars (\*\*\*\*\*. but stars, not asterisks) for me in Firefox. What browser are you using? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-deal-with-odd-unrecognized-characters-in-thread-titles/684437/3 "2014-03-24T14:05:46Z")
Only 4 stars (☆☆☆☆) actually. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-deal-with-odd-unrecognized-characters-in-thread-titles/684437/4 "2014-03-24T14:28:05Z")
I see four stars in Chrome. I would assume it’s a browser issue. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-deal-with-odd-unrecognized-characters-in-thread-titles/684437/5 "2014-03-24T16:01:18Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Only 4 stars (☆☆☆☆) actually. Oops. I counted on a cartoon character’s fingers and converted. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-deal-with-odd-unrecognized-characters-in-thread-titles/684437/6 "2014-03-24T16:35:30Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > How did someone get unrecognized fonts in a thread title? Is it supposed to display something Firefox can display? What character is 26/06? [Unicode](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicode). If you can’t see Unicode characters, odds are you’re probably using a first generation smart phone or tablet, or a _very_ old computer. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-deal-with-odd-unrecognized-characters-in-thread-titles/684437/7 "2014-03-24T17:47:05Z")
I’m Using XP on a Dell laptop I bought in 2007. Not very old at all… odd that I can’t see Unicode. I have the latest Firefox. It updates itself automatically. Asterisks \*\*\*\* aren’t a problem. stars I don’t see. How did someone get unicode characters in a thread title? I’m doing good to type regular letters. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-deal-with-odd-unrecognized-characters-in-thread-titles/684437/8 "2014-03-24T18:01:41Z")
I hate to say this but a computer from 2007 is considered “very old” these days, and XP is also “very old”. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-deal-with-odd-unrecognized-characters-in-thread-titles/684437/9 "2014-03-24T18:03:43Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > [Unicode](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicode). If you can’t see Unicode characters, odds are you’re probably using a first generation smart phone or tablet, or a _very_ old computer. iPhone 3G here. Not only can I see four stars, I can type 'em. ☆☆☆☆ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-deal-with-odd-unrecognized-characters-in-thread-titles/684437/10 "2014-03-24T18:07:26Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Oops. I counted on a cartoon character’s fingers and converted. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-deal-with-odd-unrecognized-characters-in-thread-titles/684437/11 "2014-03-24T18:08:55Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > How did someone get unicode characters in a thread title? All you need to do is cut and paste. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-deal-with-odd-unrecognized-characters-in-thread-titles/684437/12 "2014-03-24T22:08:52Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m Using XP on a Dell laptop I bought in 2007. Not very old at all… Windows XP will no longer be supported by MicroSoft in about 2 weeks. In computer terms, you are practically Paleolithic.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-deal-with-odd-unrecognized-characters-in-thread-titles/684437/13 "2014-03-24T23:51:54Z")
**aceplace57** , see [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=17225835&postcount=25) that I put up just a few minutes ago, in which I posted a whole bunch of “special characters”. How many of those does your system display? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-deal-with-odd-unrecognized-characters-in-thread-titles/684437/14 "2014-03-25T03:47:17Z")
I just fired up my XP laptop originally from about the same time period, and I’m not having any troubles. There were a couple symbols I didn’t have in Senegoid’s post, but I had most of them. And one of them I don’t even have on my Windows 7 computer. Ultimately it’s down to what fonts you have, but I don’t have many that didn’t come with Windows XP on that laptop. Really, really old versions of Firefox would not do font substitution (which means that, if it can’t find a character in one font, it will pick the closest font that does have the character.) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-deal-with-odd-unrecognized-characters-in-thread-titles/684437/15 "2014-03-25T03:54:57Z")
I just remembered my even older computer that did have this problem. It seems that sometimes Windows XP doesn’t come with certain fonts enabled. I used Google and found some quick instructions that may help provide you with better Unicode support. > **[Unicode - Enabling it fully in Windows XP/2K. Unicode Indian languages input...](https://www.azhagi.com/uniset.html)** > > Unicode - Enabling it fully in Windows XP/2K. Unicode Indian languages input in all Windows applications, using Azhagi/Azhagi+. Power of Unicode.