Re: using TABS vs SPACES in E-Mail
I have changed the subject header...
In article <[🔎] 19990118001641.A4585@worldvisions.ca> you write:
>On Sun, Jan 17, 1999 at 06:34:49PM -0800, Steve Lamb wrote:
>2) We want it to _also_ be viewable by Windows users. Since their fonts are
> proportional, we can't use spaces to separate columns; tabs aren't great
> either, but since they're generally guaranteed to be 8 spaces apart, you
> can do a good job if your columns are under 8 characters wide. You can
> start guessing after they get wider. But most importantly: you need
> tabs, not spaces, so that it looks the same for the old-style formatting
> people.
[...]
>ASCII text with 8 char tabs is severely flawed, but it's the only friend we
>have. Don't screw with it.
Just my 2 cents: I think using TABS is Ok (I personally do not
know if any programs or OS that do not default to 8 characters),
except it messes up the formatting when you quote the message
in many mailers (eg pine, mh), using the Reply function.
Personally, I think the best formating possible might be to MIME encode
a text version *and* a HTML version (I think most mailers support MIME
these days?????), however, entering the message might be difficult with
most mailers...
Given that people won't change to HTML overnight (if at all), IMHO,
any program that displays Mail using a proportional font is broken
and should be fixed if tables are to work.
Even better: don't use tables in E-Mail ;-)
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