[sleepypost]

Well, this riddle is terrifying to say the least. I will be VERY disappointed if the answer HAL gave is actually supposed to be the correct answer. That is a terrbile play on words because the definition of a "sign" and a "letter" is very very very very very very very very very different. If this is a childrens' riddle, and that is the 'correct' answer, then that teaches the child to blur the definitions of words, and that is dangerous because it leads to sloppy rhetoric.


But in this case, i guess the sign he wants made is in reality a sort of letter, since it is directed at a limited audience, and it is in fact a greeting. So I'll agree with HAL on this one, even though he failed to define the actual wording of the sign as that of the structure of a typical 'letter'. That is crucial in the jusification of why it costs 8 dubloons since it is a 'letter' and not just a sign. If the wording for the sign was, "CITY OF LAFAYETTE" that would NOT be a definitional 'letter', but rather is just a sign. So it is important to point out the fact that this particular "sign" is really a "letter to someone". Since there are many signs that are actually just signs and nothing more. Like "WENDY'S" or "NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT". "WELCOME YURBLES....." is a letter. Important to point this out. It cements and justifies HAL's conclusion.