Hello, I wonder if any of you would have ideas on the history of asterisks* in IRC and chat conversations? I know how they are used and I've found several references to them, for example: Another common feature is the use of asterisks to emphasize words denoting actions (*grins*) or sounds (*bang*). (http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol2/issue4/danet.html) I would still like to know more about the history of these symbols. I have read an article by Tine Thode Hougaard in whitch she suggests that they might origin from manuscripts for plays where actions are described within asterisks. My own hypothesis is that asterisks might have something to do with computer programming languages. On IRC, for example, one can search for keywords by using the command /list *keyword*. Are there any articles written on this topic? with best regards, Jonna Ahti PhD student Department of Scandinavian languages and literature University of Helsinki