tlug: RTF interchange format

[Dennis McMurchy <denismcm@example.com>]

  Hi,

  I complained yesterday on a public mailing list about people who
distribute documents in Microshaft M$Word format, telling them that
they ought to use plaintext, HTML, PDF or (possibly) Postscript
depending on the nature of the document, rather than sending material
out in the proprietary format of a commercial word processor that
"only runs on a few computer platforms".

  Running 'strings' on the document in question yields this sort of
output:

        JISTEC
        Technology Management
        Microsoft Word 
        MSWordDoc
        Word.Document.6
        Technology Management
        .dot
        Microsoft Word for Windows 9R
        Canon LBP-730 LIPS4

So I presume this is just a standard M$Word file.  Then, in this
morning's mail I received this admonition: 

	"Actually, most people can read the Microsoft-sponsored RTF
	interchange format. It's a little less standard than HTML but
	more widely supported by word processing software."  

  So, now I'm wondering what the story really is.  Does this so-called
'RTF interchange format' really represent any kind of a standard (de facto
or otherwise), and, if so, how does it differ from the standard M$Word
file.  And where do I get a reader that will at least allow me to decode
it under Linux?

  By the way, I came across the neatest little gif animation the other
day (where?).  It's a 1/4 inch by 2 inch white box with the 
Mic*os**t logo in it.  A Linux logo moves in from the left and smashes
the MS logo into oblivion.  Real cute.  I can't remember where I originally
found it, so I've stuck it at this URL for any who are interested:

         http://www2.gol.com/users/denismcm/linux-ms.gif

  Cheers,

Dennis McMurchy, 
Sointula, B.C. / Tojinmachi, Fukuoka
Canada           Japan


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