Re: OT: Flamebait: Text vs HTML email - Long message
Kent West wrote:
>
> RE: Why not use HTML in email?
>
> Some very good comments . . . .
>
> I think part of what started this thread was that I had learned several years
> agon on this list to send email in plain text; I then assumed that meant that
> plain text email should be used everywhere. However, recently I've been thinking
> that "formatted text" makes sense in some situations. Shaleh said it well, that
> HTML email can "make sense in an enclosed, controlled environment. Open
> mailing lists are just a different beast." Ron also helped to make this
> distinction.
<snip />
All bombastic pedantry aside, I must concede that "formatted text" often
can be a good thing, in terms of conveying information.
For that matter, I'm often quite impressed by the presentation and
formatting of the rfc's, which, of course, are also ascii.
I hereby also concede that a well crafted xhtml document can be quite
compelling and informative. So, too, other niceties of such media can,
in the right hands, contribute value and meaning to any missive.
Nevertheless, I recoil at thoughts of fielding a plethora of html ridden
pleas from newbies crying for help on debian, or any of the other thirty
odd lists and newsgroups that I frequent. Maybe I'm just too plain old
for this; but, I find it excessively stressful trying to glean meaning,
intent and objective content from changing fonts, sizes, colo[u]rs,
non-standard rendering of position, context, transposition,
juxtaposition, &c. that is all too common in the web browser arena, and
even less standardized in Email programs.
So, if I'm truly too old to have a valid opinion on this subject,
please, carry on and evolve without me ;>
Good post, though; and the ripostes have all been really quite
interesting . . .
--
Best Regards,
mds
mds resource
888.250.3987
Dare to fix things before they break . . .
Our capacity for understanding is inversely proportional to how much we
think we know. The more I know, the more I know I don't know . . .
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