RE: HTML formatted email

[thomas@xxxxxxxxxxx]

David:

On Wed, 18 July 2001, "Boling, David E." wrote:

> We are PROGRAMMERS,

True enough, and as such we should recognize that HTML e-mail is not 
appropriate for mailing-lists and newsgroups. Personal e-mail, fancy business 
blurbs, whatever -- fine; but e-mail that is sent to untold numbers with 
unknown capabilities, there's zero reason to use HTML and good reason to avoid 
it.

It isn't always that a specific client program doesn't handle HTML -- I'm using 
Netscape 6.1 Preview Release 1 right now, hardly an incompetent browser; but 
HTML coming through the service I have to use is often effectively garbage in 
any client. In some systems, HTML e-mail isn't even passed. It might have 
nothing to do with the user, but it certainly has a lot to do with the sender 
who chooses to ignore etiquette not to mention established guidelines.

> I only know a few people that don't use a html email client, and they better
> start smelling the coffee or they're missing out anyway.  I'm sure there are
> still people using text browers as well, I just consider them techonogy
> adverse.

To generalize to a user in this case argues that while we all might be 
programmers, we aren't all knowledgeable.

> Maybe I'm a little extreme in my opinions, but I do think HTML mail has a
> place, I use it all the time and that's where the world is going.

And when you want to send a pretty picture on fancy stationery to impress Miss 
Jones in Accounting, I'm sure HTML is totally appropriate. Very few will 
disagree that it's appropriate in many situations. But in any forum where HTML 
has been established as a problem issue, it's purely inconsiderate. For this 
forum (as with newsgroups in general) HTML is a problem and will remain so for 
some time to come even if the charter and/or moderator states otherwise.

Tom Liotta

-- 
Tom Liotta
The PowerTech Group, Inc.
19426 68th Avenue South
Kent, WA 98032
Phone  253-872-7788
Fax  253-872-7904
http://www.400Security.com


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