# What\_does\_this\_mean?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what_does_this_mean/1119>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [March 25, 2000, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what_does_this_mean/1119 "2000-03-25T01:50:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what_does_this_mean/1119/1 "2000-03-25T01:50:00Z")

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The “underlines” between words, usually in names?  
Peace,  
mangeorge

* * *

I only know two things;  
I know what I need to know  
And  
I know what I want to know  
Mangeorge, 2000

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**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what_does_this_mean/1119/2 "2000-03-25T02:02:00Z")

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Some sites don’t permit users to register screen names that contain spaces, so instead of signing up as Cecil Adams, you’d have to resort to Cecil\_Adams or CecilAdams.

I don’t know what the technical reasons are for this, but it’s quite common. I had to use the underscore-instead-of-space in screen names for my Yahoo mailbox & a few other sites. I was surprised to see it was not a requirement of this message board…

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**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what_does_this_mean/1119/3 "2000-03-25T02:45:00Z")

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A different application, but based on the same software issues, occurs on many newsgroups. They do not have software to support **bolding** or _italics_, so they either use _asterisks_ or _underscores_ to set off text such as book titles and magazine articles.

* * *

Tom~

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**Author:** ![Jois](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ea666f/32.png) [@Jois](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jois)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what_does_this_mean/1119/4 "2000-03-25T03:57:00Z")

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Even though I have seen _this_ used many times it still looks wrong\_and\_I\_keep\_waiting-for something else to happen.

Plus my typing skills are marginal and \* and \_ really slow me down!

## Glad SDMB doesn’t require it!

Are you driving with your eyes open or are you using The Force? - A. Foley

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**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what_does_this_mean/1119/5 "2000-03-25T04:03:00Z")

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Well thanks, y’all. Kinda obvious, once you know. I, too, am glad it’s not needed here.  
Peace,  
mangeorge

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**Author:** ![Jois](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ea666f/32.png) [@Jois](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jois)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what_does_this_mean/1119/6 "2000-03-27T02:53:00Z")

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•  
•  
°  
°

Tee hee!

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**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what_does_this_mean/1119/7 "2000-03-27T21:45:00Z")

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My computer teacher kept pronouncing \* as “ass-te-rick.” Not wanting to embarrass her in front of the class, I told her during a break to remember the quote, “I regret that I have but one asterisk for my country.”

* * *

AskNott

"Measure twice, cut once. Dang! Measure again, cut again.