Re: groff ms fidelity to AT&T ms behavior (was: Footnote line length ratio to current line length)

[M Douglas McIlroy]

> As far as I know there is no curated collection of ms documents against
which ms implementations can be measured.  Are you in a position to
share some of your collection with the community?

There were -ms man pages in v6 through v10, and versions of Lesk's
1974  memorandum in v6,  v7,and v10. I have paper copies of all but
the 1974 document. All but v10 are readily scannable.

> I said last month[1] that the historical AT&T ms
footnote ratio was 5/6, but this is clearly wrong as my own email
earlier today to this list illustrated with links to TUHS archives of
V6 and V7 sources.

Alternative facts! Both the v7 and v10 versions of Lesk's memos
say 5/6. (I didn't check v6.) I imagine it began at 5/6 and was
changed by public demand. The Gnu version must have been
built conscientiously without peeking at the code..

Incidentally, FL is a macro in v6-7 and a number register in Gnu.