On Sun, 30 May 1999, David Krings wrote:
> Not to this topic, but is there a mail client for Linux capable of html ?
Netscape Mail is fully capable of HTML messages. However, you shouldn't
use HTML messages on a mailing list (or at all, for that matter).
Please note that the following diatribe is not directed at any
particular people on this list. It may even be completely off base
from the intended topic. Here are the reasons that people get annoyed
with HTML messages:
1) A lot of people use ascii mail readers. If all you're doing is
reading mail, why open up slow and bloated netscape, when you can use
pine, balsa, kmail, etc? HTML mail on non HTML browsers looks like
crap. Especially weird HTML like Outlook.
2) HTML messages, especially from Outlook, are much larger in size than
the equivalent ascii message. Instead of downloading a 2k message, you
sometimes end up with a 50k message. Some people don't have dsl or isdn
connections. Some people, believe it or not, still connect with a 14.4
modem. To ask them to by a new modem of 75$ just so that they can see
the exact same messge with different fonts is rude. And think of the
poor mail server having to dish out hundreds of megabytes of messages
instead of just hundreds of kilobytes.
2) Even if you're using Netscape or another HTML capable
mail reader, a lot of people don't know what they're doing when they
play around with fonts, colors, etc. Case in point is a certain
secretary at work who insists on sending out important messages with
all sorts of colors. She loves to use light blue, dark orange, etc.,
most of which are completely unreadable on my default gray background.
3) You should follow the number one rule of using HTML: Content is
Everything. If there is no reason to use HTML, don't. No one on the
internet is going to complain if you DON'T use HTML. Trust me on this
one :-)
--
Arandir...
_______________________________
<http://www.meer.net/~arandir/>
