Re: the pound sign (#)

[John Renish <John -dot- Renish -at- CONNER -dot- COM>]

Sorry, folks, but these marks have a variety of names in different
_countries_, not just by continents. I have always heard the # called a
pound sign or a number sign, as have other writers (so far, all in the
U.S.). Additionally, we Americans (by which I mean residents of the U.S.)
commonly call the / a forward slash, a slash, or, rarely, a virgule.

Canadians often refer to themselves and their customs as North American,
even though they are a tiny minority on this continent. Americans outnumber
them by an order of magnitude and Mexicans outnumber them by a factor of
three. _Most_ North Americans (Americans and English-speaking Mexicans)
follow U.S. usage; e.g., neither armour nor plough is in common use in North
America outside Canada. Canadian usage is somewhere between U.K. and U.S.
forms and definitely not the North American norm.

My comments are not intended to disparage Canadians, who are in many ways
more civil and civilized than my own countrymen. However, whenever they use
the term North America(n), the reader or listener should be aware that their
remarks may not in fact be representative.

John -dot- Renish -at- conner -dot- com
My statements are my own and do not represent Conner Peripherals, Inc.
-------------
Original Text