Sorry for replying to my own message...
It was just a short list of the general usage of those punctuation
marks. Sometimes they can be interchanged or replaced by other
punctation marks, words, or expressions.
Anyway, you can get more detailed descriptions from a dictionary or
encylcopedia.
BTW, I don't think there's any reason to have a guide on the remailer. If
someone didn't think about checking those books first, they're probably not
going to think about sending a message to the remailer, either.
The people maintiaing the FFML FAQ might want to include punctuation rules
in the FAQ, since those are frequently asked questions, and part of this
ML's function is to help fanfic authors.
On Tue, 30 Apr 1996, Salomon Farin wrote:
This is what I know about dots/elipses, dashes, and hyphens:
dots or elipses (...)
1. To indicate that something has been left out.
ex. used... to indicate... ^_^
In Smoke and Mirrors, I think he should use dots to indicate that what has
been left out is that the character is then killed.
i.e. <character> woke up, heard the doorbell...
<character> was eating, heard the doorbell...
<character> was reading the newspaper, heard the doorbell...
A big ka-boom.
What's left out is "and was engulfed by a big ka-boom." I also think the
dots better imply a continuity between the doorbell that each of the
characters heard and the explosion. And since dots indicate that something
has been left out, you don't need to force everyone to hear the
doorbell. The big ka-boom explains what happened next. ^_^
Having everyone hear the doorbell would take away some of the surprise of
the explosion, since your shouting to your readers that something big
happens after/because of the doorbell.
2. "That is" or "namely" expressions:
Dashes can replace "that is" or "namely" expressions.
ex. "He's going to marry Akane tomorrow -- if he lives until then."
"He's going to marry Akane tomorrow, that is, if he lives until then."
ex. "There are a few other people in my Japanese class -- three, to be
exact -- who are also studying Spanish.
This is wrong:
ex. "She wanted to reveal the identities of the secret mercenary
group -- the Knight Sabers -- for only one reason: revege.
Ignore it.
Salomon Farin sfarin@netcom.com