# txt (9-txt.us)

People say "txt" when they mean a text message sent to a phone, or a plain file full of words without formatting. It is the casual shorthand for anything written in ordinary letters and numbers.

## What a model may hear
- plain text file (operating systems and file extensions): assume a .txt file with no markup, encoding, or metadata, ready for scripts to parse
- DNS TXT record (domain name system administration): look up or set verification strings, SPF policies, or other machine-readable data attached to a domain
- SMS or messaging protocol payload (telecommunications and networking): treat the content as a short message format with length limits and specific character encoding constraints
- text-based user interface element (web development and UI frameworks): render or extract raw string content stripped of HTML tags, styles, or interactive elements

## Where people and models part ways
- Says: "send me that txt"
  Means: share the written information in any readable form
  May be taken as: output a raw .txt file attachment or strip all formatting from a document
  Say instead: "send me the text of that in a message I can read"
- Says: "txt me the details"
  Means: send the information through a messaging app
  May be taken as: attempt to use SMS gateway protocols or enforce 160-character limits
  Say instead: "message me the details through this app"
- Says: "save it as txt"
  Means: keep the words in a simple readable file
  May be taken as: save with system-default encoding that loses special characters, or omit line endings needed by the user's system
  Say instead: "save it as a plain text file with UTF-8 encoding"
- Says: "the txt on the site"
  Means: the words written on the webpage
  May be taken as: scrape only the DNS TXT record or extract invisible metadata instead of visible content
  Say instead: "the visible text on that webpage"

## Tips
- say "plain text" or "unformatted text" when you want words without styling
- specify "text message" or "SMS" for phone messaging to avoid file format confusion
- mention the program you will open it in if encoding matters to you
- avoid "txt" alone when you mean visible webpage content; say "page text" or "article text"
- if you want a file, say "text file" and add the extension you expect, like ".txt"

## Often confused with
- text: the full standard word, less likely to trigger file-format assumptions
- SMS: specifically phone messaging, not files or general writing
- markdown: light formatting syntax that looks like plain text but has structure
- csv: text organized into commas and rows, meant for spreadsheets
- ascii: an old limited character set, not all plain text uses it
- string: a programming term for text data in code, not a human message