On Mon, Oct 07, 2002 at 03:14:01AM +0800, Tim Kehres wrote: > These "rules" (netiquette pertaining to HTML postings) have been around > since almost before time began (at least in reference to modern email > usage). At the time they made a lot sense. In terms of current usage, not > as much, IMHO.
They still make a lot of sense. For example this list is internationally subscribed and a large number of folks in the UK and Europe have metered internet access which means that they pay more for each extra byte of data received. Unless you are in business with the metered access ISP's I can't think of any reason why you would want to make all those folks pay out extra cash just so they can read an email with extra unneeded formatting. > as much, IMHO. When sending content that can be sent either way, it's > always a good idea to send the simplest format out, which would be plain > text, Absolutely- Also - since many UNIX/Linux email clients and many mobile devices are based on text only displays HTML is worst than wasted on these, it's simply impossible to read when displayed as plain text. If you want your email to be read by the largest number of people you need to send it plain text. > > The majority of email clients today however are HTML aware, and the Not in the places I have worked, and even if true it has always been true that netiquette says do not send formatted email to Mailing lists since it won't be supported. In this list HTML mail simply gets dumped without being opened by many folks. 66% of all the email spam I get is HTML formatted. Of the rest of email I get less than 1% is html formatted. > the percentage of people using such HTML-aware clients is only increasing. In this list alone only 4.6% (23) of the last 500 messages contained HTML > reasons are simple - it is easier to read (typically), and more information > can be conveyed effectively. I disagree - the plain text is just as readable and frequently more readable since people have no idea how their html will eventually be displayed on the receiving end. > Other lists that I'm subscribed to have made > good use of this capability by its members being able to send out queries or > replies, including screen shots (inline with the text and not a random > attachment). Being able to understand what is going on by the messages in The same URL that you use in those emails work just as effectively in a plain text email in mutt, elm and exmh but you don't have to carry all that excess baggage. This is done in the email lists I subscribe to, which don't use HTML mail. > these environments is much more effective than any text only group I've been > involved with. Since the Text only email lists I use have the same capability, I have to disagree. > > Trying to hold back the tide at this point in terms of HTML usage within > email seems like an exercise in futility. Better to get more up to date Not in the email lists I use. Some even de-html-ify all html email before distributing them to the mail list. Which is a great idea, saves server load, archive space, reduces operational network costs and reduces the amount of time it takes to distribute the email to the list. > clients that can handle what has for all practical purposes become a defacto > standard in email. Absolutely not a defacto standard. Many corporations won't even let html emails onto their corporate networks. Since HTML pages can contain Web Bugs used by spammers and crackers to identify valid email address and internet ip addresses it is a security risk to even open an HTML mail. Note that in this list alone only 4.6 % of the last 500 messages contained any HTML and most of them were MIME messages which laughably contained the same email in both plain text and HTML formats. genius, sheer genius. :-) Just out of curiosity, Tim, does your employer's Instant messaging product happen to use html? > > > P.S.: Please send any flames to me, and not the list. > P.P.S: It is also good netiquette to include non-null subject lines and to > trim the trailers. :-) Absolutely - and good netiquette is something we should always try to use. -- Jeff Kinz, Director, Emergent Research, Hudson, MA. "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" copyright 2002. Use is restricted. Any use is an acceptance of the offer at http://users.rcn.com/jkinz/policy.html. (o- -o) //\ eLviintuaxbilse /\\ V_/_ _\_V -- redhat-list mailing list unsubscribe mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?subject=unsubscribe https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/redhat-list
