Can we have maybe a ctrl + i char to have italic echos?

ctrl+i is a tab character and mIRC can't just go implementing random new control codes as other clients won't be able to see them.

* deegee votes for changing Ctrl+R to italic instead of reversed colors

I did not see anyone/any script using ctrl-r for months... therefore I second this audacious idea

It would definitely be a good idea to replace CTRL+R, seeing that mIRC's reverse tags is apparently interpreted as italics on some other clients.

I would definitely like to see an italic control code, but I use reverse all the time and would not like to see it replaced. There must be something else that could be used instead.

i actually only want to have italics for my own echos, im not bothered about sending ctr+r italic msgs to a channel, and that others can see my mesage in italic (although this would be even more great for mirc)

Even *I* use reverse.

Italic doesn't even make as much sense on IRC where users historically use fixed-width fonts that don't even have italic faces and so they would be emulated (very badly) by the underlying font renderer. mIRC's default font is still fixedsys iirc, which doesn't support italics (natively).

Could mIRC just ignore the italic control code if the font doesn't support it?

It could, I wouldn't mind an italic code if the key combination wasn't ctrl-r, ctrl-i (what's left?) *and* if it was a sustainable character code

We have a serious problem already with control codes under vista because they use the non display character range (< 32) that vista will never render consistently as a box, no matter what font. Picking chr(4) for italics, for instance, would just perpetuate this huge issue that seriously needs to be looked at in future versions. Now is not the time to be adding more control codes, but to be solving the problem of what to do with our control codes in the future. I can't stress this enough.

Besides the character code that is chosen, we'd also have to look at support from the IRC community as well. mIRC can't just go and throw in a new control code and expect other clients to support it.. last time Khaled did that, he wasn't received very well, and even though mIRC pulled out of it, I think there is still a valuable lesson to be learned from that. If another control code is to be added, other clients should be informed of the change prior and be given time to comment on the implementation-- again, this goes back to what character code is inevitably chosen, and how to deal with the codes we have now, looking forward into Vista compatibility...

CTRL + E?

I'm just going on the basis of the HTML emphasis tag.

<i> and <em> look pretty much the same. So why not just call it emphasis? :P

Let's talk about logic.

First off, italics go to the right. In other words, it is a completely random idea to shift words to the right without having an option to shift it to the left. The world isn't 100% right-handed.

If the idea of shifting words to the right is ever implemented, then I would strongly encourage shiftings words to the left as a combination. Therefore, I see it completely random to want to shift words to the right and not the left.

So Ctrl + ir for the right and ctrl + i + l for left.

I would rather have none of those features, rather than 1 of the feature.

And since shifting words to the left seems to be non-existant in the world of computers, I wouldn't recommend wanting shifting words to the right either. Fair game.

-Neal.

Huh? Italics leaning to the right has nothing to do with what hand you use - generally speaking people don't even use italics when writing by hand anyway. They also have nothing to do with computers, italics have been a staple formatting method in typography for centuries and, as far as I'm aware, have never been represented as leaning any direction other than to the right.

Anyway, an italic/emphasis control code doesn't dictate which way it must lean on the user's screen. If you're particularly bothered you could write a script and type-renderer to display text in italics as leaning any way you want.

I felt that when italics were created, someone or a group had to decide whether they wanted it to lean to the right or left. I'm guessing they were right-handed.

Well, in that case, I shall agree with you when you say italics were not invented by computers. So if italics were invented centuries ago historically, then they would have been suggested by right-handed people I guess.

And yes, lean to the right/left is a better word than shift (my bad).

Though being left-handed myself (and a former student of subaltern studies, cutural studies and the like) I have to wonder considerably at what you are concerned about... italics for lefties...

it's a question of how you read and you read -> that way ->