[ih] Fwd: Reporter query on the history of greater-than in quoted replies

[dot at dotat.at (Tony Finch)]

Dave Crocker <dhc2 at dcrocker.net> wrote:
>
> So I'm going to guess that it came up in the 80s.  Anyone have old
> copies of MH source code that might show it?

This turned out to be a much better idea than looking at mail(1) :-)

4.3BSD isn't amazingly early, but its version of MH includes some lovely
bits about quoted replies. The READ-ME is a message dated 30 Jan 1986 from
Bob Desinger who describes it as

> prepended with those nice "> " netnews-style borders

https://github.com/dspinellis/unix-history-repo/tree/BSD-4_3-Snapshot-Development/usr/contrib/mh/miscellany/replies

Tony.
-- 
f.anthony.n.finch  <dot at dotat.at>  http://dotat.at/  -  I xn--zr8h punycode
Fitzroy, Sole: Southeasterly 4 or 5, but 6 or 7 in west. Slight or moderate,
occasionally rough in west. Occasional rain. Good, occasionally poor.