Brackets

Faneds commonly have made use of brackets to distinguish editorial comments {like this} from correspondents’ text in lettercolumns and, sometimes, articles. However, computers have rendered the typewriter makeshifts described below obsolete, and today’s editors often employ changes of typeface to separate their remarks.

Once IBM Selectrics became available, dedicated faneds like Bill Bowers did so even before word processors made font changes a trivial matter.

From Fancyclopedia 2, ca. 1959

Perhaps nowhere have fans shown more varied ingenuity than in simulating brackets with only the resources of the typerkeyboard. Some, 'tis true, draw them in afterwards [like Swisher] but most fans use the keys, which is more convenient. Tucker and others employ double parentheses a half space apart ((apart)), while Speer sometimes uses -(Gregg shorthand parentheses)-. Youd's /_brackets with underlining_/ made with the virgule have been the most popular, tho the underlining is frequently dispensed with -- or mutated; Mirta Forsto used tildes for underlining. Eney and some others use the / crossed slant-bar/ . The purpose of brackets is to distinguish ordinary parentheses by the writer from editorial comments such as [nuts! -ed] inserted in the body of a letter or article. Ray Bradbury tried an unsuccessful mutation in simply making his comments ALL-CAP.

From Fancyclopedia 2 Supplement, ca. 1960

I forgot to mention the commonest method of all: double parentheses a full space apart ( ( ) ). /That's one of the drawbacks of chasing the esoteric: I miss the blatantly obvious./ Some get so enamored of double parens that they use 'em even when not needed; Larry Stark was a conspicuous sinner.

From Fancyclopedia 1, ca. 1944

Perhaps nowhere have fans shown more varied ingenuity than in simulating brackets with only the resources of the typerkeyboard. Some, 'tis true, draw them in afterwards [like Swisher] but most fans use the keys, which is more convenient. Tucker and others employ double parentheses a half space apart ((apart)), while Speer sometimes uses -(Gregg shorthand parentheses)-. Youd's /_brackets with underlining_/ made with the oblique mark have been the most popular, with the oblique mark have been the most popular, except that the underlining is frequently dispensed with (Mirta Forsto use tildes to underline bracketed comments). /_These–/ are similar to Youd's. The purpose of brackets is to distinguish ordinary parentheses by the writer from editorial comments such as [nuts! -ed] inserted in the body of a letter or article. Ray Bradbury tried an unsuccessful mutation in simply making his comments ALL-CAP.

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