Suppose you could only express yourself with 25 of the 26 letters we've come to know. I regret to inform you this might be our current plight. On 4/1/2008 the previously obscure tech firm IP4UsOnly Corp. surprised even experienced online freedom monitors, boldly contending their own exclusive rights to the online use of the first of our beloved 26 letters, other entities to be required to fork over hefty licensing fees for the privilege of its use or risk being sued.

Some well-known internet & publishing firms quickly coughed up the loot in order to exclude the risk of suit costs & other burdensome expenses if IP4UsOnly's move were to be upheld by the courts. Others chose to fight, citing opinions of the move's likely reverse. "There is good hope the courts will step in & overrule this", commented John Smith of Smith, Jones, HuffHuizen, & the other Guy.

Still others struggle for now to function without using the letter in question, employing synonyms, symbols, omissions, or even misspellings where needed. This is the course I've chosen to follow here @ Coolnotions, difficult though it be. It might get even worse. Rumors exist of IP4UsOnly possibly issuing pronouncements in the soon-to-come future concerning some of the other letters too. It's difficult enough to write without the first letter. With the loss of still others, it could be impossible.

Er ... no, none of the preceding is actually true, just kidding! Happily, it's just an April Fool's joke. We can all keep using the letter "a". If only some of the other bizarre IP claims in recent years were just jokes! All of the names of individuals and companies in this article were totally made up. Any resemblance to the names of real people and companies is purely coincidental.