Thank you for your kind and generous reply; I appreciate it. Given Shannon's Law, it's no surprise that we lose a lot of meta-information... text is a rather narrow channel.

Having the extra points is pleasant. Finding out that I'm sharing a forum with someone who behaves in a gentlemanly manner when social interaction slips a cog is much, much more pleasant than that. I'm looking forward to communication with even fewer misunderstandings. :)