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Retrocomputing

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  • I don't know the answer, but note that paper tape did not begin with 8-channel tape. I'd therefore suggest looking at earlier standards, say for 5-channel tape, to see if this usage could be derived by 'extension'. Commented Apr 13, 2021 at 12:45
  • @another-dave Well, 5-bit baudot-murry tape is frequency optimized, thus in a rather ravelled order. It won't become a meaningful reference. Commented Apr 13, 2021 at 13:18
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    I'd guess that it was mostly arbitrary along the lines of big endian and little endian or driving on the right or the left. This was a day when no one considered industry wide standards. Commented Apr 14, 2021 at 9:20