Joseph- Monday, October 28, 2002, 12:55:14 PM, you wrote:
JN> There might be some decisions that need to be made, but that doesn't JN> turn it into a slipper slope, nor does it have anything to do with JN> HTML. Appearance is not the biggest problem with HTML, and I agree JN> that HTML is not the way to go. As for the decisions on how much JN> enrichment to provide, I guess it's a functionality analysis, how much JN> would be beneficial for the users and the product. I think that JN> tables, bold, underlining and italics would be a sensible package, in JN> that it would not only be very functional but also be set of JN> attributes that generally go together (except for tables). I think JN> color and size variations, and other fancy fonts, are all things that JN> could be reserved for attachments if necessary; but others might have JN> their own views. The fact that a decision or cutoff would be JN> necessary, though, seems like a poor reason not to undertake the JN> effort. Actually, I think it's exactly this thinking that led M$ eventually to the executable attachments in Lookout. Folks brainstormed about more and more features they'd like to see in email messages and finally someone came up with the (in Harry Harrison's wonderful quote, waaay out of context here, "miracle of misguided engineering") that the email client should be able to launch applications automatically. I agree with you that the fact that a decision has to be made is a poor reason not to undertake the effort. There are better reasons not to undertake it, but that certainly contributes to the total effect. I'm not willing to let YOU decide for ME what features to include or exclude, any more than I would expect you to let me decide those things for you. And Paula makes the point that if the effects are user-configurable, as they would need to be, then the text won't necessarily look the same on the receiving end as they would on the sending end - thus all you'd be ensuring is that things look cute on *your* screen. -Mark Wieder Using The Bat! v1.61 on Windows 2000 5.0 Build 2195 Service Pack 2 -- ________________________________________________ Current version is 1.61 | "Using TBUDL" information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
