Re: the pound sign (#)

Subject: Re: the pound sign (#)
From: Peter Zimmer <pzimmer -at- FOX -dot- NSTN -dot- NS -dot- CA>
Date: Thu, 10 Aug 1995 13:34:45 -0300

On 9 Aug 1995 17:51:33 -0000,
James Perkins <perkins -at- bilbo -dot- ntc -dot- nokia -dot- com> wrote:

>James> > I know "#" as the "hash" sign.

>Stui> Hi James. In North America, they call the # the "pound" sign. I
>too
>Stui> know it as an octothorp as I come from England, just as the / is an
>STui> oblique not a forward slash as they say here. :)

>I am working with a Canadian here, and he assures me that in North
>America, the "#" is known as the "hash" sign, as it is in Australia.
>This is certainly true of all computer specialists I have met. The
>Canadian, by the way, is not a computer specialist. He has a degree in
>English literature.

And that paragon of clear communication, the local phone company
here in Nova Scotia, Canada, calls the mark "the pound sign" in
print and on their various computer-voiced services, refering to the
lower right-hand key on the telephone key-pad. And since they
seem to be thoroughly plugged into national phone co. styles and
documents, I assume this usage is being spread to all Canadian
users of the phone system, whether or not they are literate (or
even just computer literate). And likely it is a North American phone
standard usage.

An irresitable force. Makes hash of the relevance of your informant's
credentials.

Peter
pzimmer -at- fox -dot- nstn -dot- ca

Oh yeah, in phone-speak "*" is a 'Star', not an asterisk.... but then
"asterisk" from latin/greek means "little star".... and is three
syllables and eight letters long, versus one and four.


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