underscore

... is used in the Everything2 Chatterbox in place of a space.

When addressing (with /msg or /tell) someone with a space in their name, say, Joe Blow, one would type /msg Joe_Blow or /tell Joe_Blow. see also E2 FAQ: Chatterbox

This is a service of the Chatterbox Helpdesk to people who don't feel like, well, doing what E2 is about, namely, reading the manual. Anytime anyone asks, "Why can't I send a message to Joe Blow?" we now have the option to reply with _. Putting brackets around the underscore and directing them to "poke at the line" might help, too.

Underscore, when used as a verb, also means to emphasize or stress--a figurative underlining in (non-written) communication; to give extra weight to, as in His tone underscored the importance of the event,   or   The fact that she was moving so slowly underscored her reluctance. Merriam Webster reminds us that underscore can also mean ‘to provide (action on film) with accompanying music.’

The Wordsmyth English Dictionary-Thesaurus elaborates. Underscore can mean:   accent,     stress,      punctuate,         highlight,           accentuate,                 underline,             emphasize,           feature,         amplify,       spotlight,     mark, intensify.

On E2, underscored words can be hardlinks or pipelinks, or they can simply be underlined words. Use brackets   [   ]   to create links; use HTML tags   < u >   and   < /u >   to underline.

Under Words of advice for young noders it says to never ever use a link for emphasis; use the underline. As heyoka points out, however, strictly speaking, with HTML, one should use the < em > tag for emphasis...

...or < i > for italics.

Un`der*score" (?), v. t.

To draw a mark or line under; to underline.

J. Tucker.

© Webster 1913.