On The Use of Asterisks in E-Mails

     Below are some asterisks people may use, if they like, in their posts. These are actual stars I've pulled from the night sky.
      Kevin has complained several times about the use of asterisks, and I'm told that in fact the accepted way to indicate italics or emphasis in a plain-text post is with one-space underlines before and after the "italicized" word. Like _this_. To use all caps, in internet-ese, supposedly means SHOUTING (sorry!), so that's not recommended.
      But I tell you, to me, _this_ word doesn't _feel_ italicized to me— and *this* one does! It's also *brighter*, because of the light from the stars, so you can read it more easily.
      Try turning all the lights of and reading _this_ — And now *this*. See?
      SEE? Sorry to shout again, that was for the people over in Europe and India, who are so far away from me here in California.      Anyway, If we use just *these particular asterisks*, and keep it under control, maybe Mr. Docherty won't be so offended. There are some nice ones below. These are all from the Andromeda galaxy. You may check them out for controlled use. I don't want to make our List moderators work overtime, so I'm volunteering to administer them, myself. If you want to use some, e-mail me. Italics should be a controlled substance, so, let's say, no more than two per hundred words.
      Of course, two can go a long way. You can *italicize* a whole paragraph, a whole page, nay, the whole Encyclopedia Brittanica with only a little asterisk at the beginning, and one at the end. Voila. Light a whole sky with two little stars.
      What do italics have to do with Italy, anyway? I was in Italy. I did see one Italics Mine, near Verona, and a few people wearing italics in their sport-jacket hanky pockets downtown in stylish Rome, but other than that, it didn't seem any more of an italicized country than, say, Finland. Well, I've digressed far too long. Here are the asterisks, guys:

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