[Gllug] [OT] Largest mailbox EVER!

[Bernard Peek]

In message <1069238655.1420.18.camel at obelix.lon4.fastsearch.net>, Martin 
A. Brooks <martin at clues.ltd.uk> writes
>On Wed, 2003-11-19 at 10:21, Jack Bertram wrote:
>> Not so - things like nested bullet points and bold are extremely useful
>> in making short communications convey the right message.
>
>* Bullet points are easily done with just plain text.
>* It's _really_ easy to emphasise words without resorting to HTML.

Plain text and HTML both have their places and both have advantages and 
disadvantages. It is possible to set out bullet points in plain text but 
the layout tends to get mangled if a bullet point runs to more than one 
line.

It is possible to apply a *limited* range of emphasis using ASCII but 
HTML offers a wider range of much more effective methods. In the hands 
of a reasonably competent typesetter those emphases can drastically 
improve the effectiveness of text as a communications medium. (I have to 
point out that my domain-name is an in-joke for typesetters.) In the 
hands of an incompetent typesetter HTML can completely block all 
communication.

I'm in two minds about this. Most of the arguments for plain text and 
for HTML are pretty convincing. On balance, I'd say that people who 
prefer plain-text should probably use HTML and people who prefer to use 
HTML should probably be limited to plain text.



-- 
Bernard Peek
London, UK. DBA, Manager, Trainer & Author. Will work for money.


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