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On Sat, 16 Sep 2000 20:45:42 +0200, Dierk Haasis wrote:
<snip>
DH> Can anybody tell me how humans survived so long without all this -
DH> on normal paper with nothing else but a pen or pencil?
E-mail has little to do with survival. It has more to do with a
convenient way of corresponding. Although, mind you, society is getting
sophisticated to the point where e-mail is considered a need for
'survival' as things are now. :-)
If you wish to include basic text in your mail then fine. No one is
stopping you. If you wish mail coming your way to only be in basic text,
then fine, let it be known and/or set up your filters. If others wish to
enrich what they send, which is similar to using decorated paper in
snail mail, spraying perfume on letters and envelopes, as in snail mail
etc., why belittle it or shed it in such a negative light? People walk
around with and own all sorts of gadgetry, do all sorts of things,
present papers, and do lectures with the aid of visual enhancements
which aren't really 'needed' as you put it. May as well do away with
PowerPoint and it's ilk eh, since all you really need is some plain text
on a white background to get your point across? But then again (to use
your line of argument), you're there and they can listen to you, so why
bother with the visual aid at all? It's not about need all the time. It
can be about presentation and or style.
Also, that argument about why not include everything else is rather weak
one. It's a universal template for skeptics resistance to any form of
change or introduction of new ideas. Ideas that aim to enhance what's
already presently in use. "When will it stop?" they say. One thing will
lead to another. <shrug>
IMO, there is a place for composing mail in rich text or sending HTML
mail. However, it simply shouldn't be routine and is at present being
very much abused. Abused because HTML mail comes at a cost. A cost that
most who use it do not recognize. There's the bandwidth cost that is not
appreciated when one analyses things on an individualised basis. The
cost on bandwidth is appreciated when one considers the amount of extra
megabytes being carried across networks when millions use HTML e-mail
unnecessarily. The other cost is that you are forcing the reader at the
other end to read the message as you are seeing it. E-mail has
exonerated me from having to read poor penmanship and fonts that I
dislike. I can read messages with my own fonts and background colour.
The recipients cannot read HTML e-mail with their own settings. You
should consider each time you're sending an HTML formatted message if
you really think it's important or meaningful that the recipient see the
message the way that you're seeing it, i.e., with the same font's, font
sizes etc.
I got some HTML e-mail Christmas greetings and birthday greetings which
I found to be rather nice. if you have other tools or ways to enhance
your communication then by all means I don't see the problem with using
it *appropriately*. The problem here is with appropriate use. The way
HTML support is implemented in most of the commonly used e-mail clients,
encourages inappropriate use of HTML e-mail. *That* is my grouse against
it. It's actually inappropriate in most situations in which e-mail is
exchanged. IMO, a default setting to compose mail in HTML format should
not have been provided in a general purpose e-mail client.
- --
A. Curtis Martin..
Moderator TBUDL/TBBETA | PGP Key ID: 0xEE079937
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** "If all goes well, you've overlooked something! "
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