# text (111-text.org)

People say text to mean written words, messages, or the act of sending a short message on a phone. It is the ordinary stuff of books, emails, and conversation.

## What a model may hear
- plain text file (computing, file systems): assume a .txt file with no formatting, no images, no markup
- text data type (databases, programming): treat the input as a string of characters, not numbers or dates
- text message or SMS (telecommunications): expect 160-character limits, phone numbers, or gateway protocols
- text node in markup (HTML, XML, document models): parse for tags, entities, and structure, not just words
- machine learning text corpus (NLP, AI training): tokenize, embed, or classify the input as training or inference data

## Where people and models part ways
- Says: "Send me the text"
  Means: Give me the written words of something
  May be taken as: Assume a .txt file attachment or SMS delivery
  Say instead: "Send me the written words in a document I can read"
- Says: "This is just text"
  Means: There is nothing special here, just words
  May be taken as: Strip all formatting, convert to raw ASCII, or reject for lacking structure
  Say instead: "This is plain writing without special formatting"
- Says: "Text me the answer"
  Means: Message me with the answer, any way you like
  May be taken as: Try to use SMS protocol or demand a phone number
  Say instead: "Message me the answer here"
- Says: "Save this as text"
  Means: Keep a copy of these words
  May be taken as: Save as .txt losing all line breaks, bullets, or bold
  Say instead: "Save this with its formatting preserved"

## Tips
- Say plain text when you mean no formatting at all
- Say rich text or document when you want bold, lists, or styles kept
- Say message or write back when you do not mean SMS
- Say string or characters when speaking to code about data types
- Specify the file format if it matters: .txt, .docx, .md

## Often confused with
- string: a programming data type, not natural language
- copy: can mean ad text or duplicate action
- content: broader, includes images and video
- script: executable code, not just words
- markdown: a specific lightweight markup format
- SMS: a specific phone messaging protocol