[rfc-i] Reasons for going beyond ASCII art

[Ole Jacobsen]

On Tue, 25 Sep 2012, Heather Flanagan (RFC Series Editor) wrote:
> 
> Very good point!  Something about this needs to be in the doc.  I 
> think opening up to color introduces a rather large set of 
> complications. Color blindness and screen calibration issues are the 
> first concerns that pop in to my head.  I understand some people 
> will find the diagrams that much easier to read if color was 
> involved, but I am not convinced the benefit outweighs the 
> difficulties this would introduce.
> 
> -Heather

I agree, this is a complicated issue. Speaking as someone who has 
worked with 2-color publications for 25 years, I cannot tell you
the number of times I have had to "reduce" a multi-colored original
down to 2 (or 1) color.

I was thinking that the RFC diagrams could be something akin to those 
found in patent applications, here for example is one for Lego:

http://www.trendsnow.net/cms/uploads/2012/03/Lego_Patent_Drawing.jpg

I don't know if there is an actual "patent standard" for these kinds
of things, but I like how they are both simple and clear.

Ole


Ole J. Jacobsen 
Editor and Publisher,  The Internet Protocol Journal
Cisco Systems
Tel: +1 408-527-8972   Mobile: +1 415-370-4628
E-mail: ole at cisco.com  URL: http://www.cisco.com/ipj
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