olderASCII

OlderASCII is a term used by digital historians and ASCII art enthusiasts to refer to the tradition and practices of ASCII-based text art from the early era of online computing. The term emphasizes works created with the standard 7-bit ASCII character set, before the widespread adoption of extended ASCII and Unicode in common use.

Historically, olderASCII developed in environments where bandwidth, storage, and display capabilities were limited. Bulletin board systems, Usenet, early email, and other text-only services shaped a culture in which artists used a small set of characters to convey images, logos, and decorative banners. Works were typically designed for monospaced fonts and constrained widths, often crafted to fit within screenfuls of text and to render consistently across diverse terminals.

Characteristics of olderASCII include the exclusive use of plain ASCII characters, limited color or none at all, and a focus on legibility in plain text. Techniques relied on line-based composition, shading through character density (for example, using characters like #, @, % for emphasis), and careful planning of line breaks. The art form favored portability and compatibility, ensuring that pieces could be shared via simple text transfers.

Culturally, olderASCII played a role in early online communities by providing a visual signature, identity markers for BBS groups, and a means of expression within the constraints of early digital media. It remains a subject of archival interest for those studying the evolution of online art and text-based communication.

See also: ASCII art, early computing culture, Usenet, bulletin board systems.