'#' as comment character vs. '#' as erase character

[Henry Spencer]

> ...  The policy of
> echoing things blindly also forced the policy of suppressing the output of
> the EOT character...

In case people are interesting in knowing *why* EOT had to be suppressed,
it's because some communications-oriented terminals power themselves
down when they get an EOT.  The idea is to let the terminal sit on
something like a Telex line in "standby" mode, with the moving parts
powered up only when there is actually an incoming message.  The first
Unix machine I worked with had such a terminal (a GE Terminet 1200) as
its console.  Back before we got Unix, there was a little competition
going for a while to see who could write the most thorough shutdown
program under RT11.  Such programs typically cleared memory, write-
protected the disks, powered down the console terminal, and then halted
the CPU after doing a tricky little dance so that all the console lights
would be out when the halt went into effect.
-- 
				Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
				{allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry