[HLUG] Email Formatting - a bit of a rant...

[Mark Broadbent]

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Matthew Macdonald-Wallace wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> Please excuse the top-posting and the long text below, it's serving as  
> an example for my point.
> 
> Please can people not send HTML-only email?
> 
> There are probably a number of us who use either webmail or a  
> text-based email client such as Mutt or Pine to read email.  If we are  
> sent html email, it is displayed exactly as the email is displayed  
> below. This makes it impossible to read and make sense of in the short  
> time that I have to check what's happening.
> 
> Whilst I admire Christopher's enthusiasm, even Hotmail has a setting  
> to send plain-text email and I would really appreciate it if mail  
> clients could be setup to at least send a plain-text version as well  
> as the HTML one.

I think the problem here might not be Chris' fault entirely.  When I set
the list up, it prevents HTML e-mail from even reaching the list,
choosing the text portion, if it exists (in fact no attachments are
permitted, just plain text).  If it is HTML only I believe the mailman
list software reformats the HTML e-mail into plain text, it's obviously
not working properly.

Julian may be able to tweak the settings to improve this reformatting.

> Also, can I please ask people not to top-post.  I don't want to be  
> seen as a list-nazi[0], I just want to be able to read a conversation  
> in the order that it is taking place.  This email that I am sending  
> now is an excellent (and purposeful) example of why you shouldn't top  
> post - by now no-one can see the original message that I am replying  
> to and the meaning and context of this email is lost.

I wholeheartedly agree on this point, unfortunately most people have
learnt these bad habits from business, especially as Outlook puts your
cursor at the top of the e-mail which encourages this behaviour.

> Finally, can people please trim the email that they are replying to so  
> that it only contains the relevant information to their point.  Again,  
> I have not done this so that people can see how much of an issue it  
> can be to receive a 200 line email.  If I'm trying to read my emails  
> whilst on the move, an email this size can take up to 3 minutes to  
> download over GPRS.
> 
> MAILADMINS: I'm happy to put forward a proposal for a mailing list  
> "behavioral guideline" document if anyone thinks that it is necessary.

Sounds like a good idea, most other lists have guidelines to this
effect.  Lets just not get to the point where the formatting of e-mail
becomes the most important subject instead of our main purpose of
helping people to use Linux. ;-)

One additional point I would like to add myself is that if you are
starting a new topic, then create a new e-mail rather than replying to
an old one and change the contents and subject.  Those of us with mail
readers that honour the References header would most appreciate that,
including me!

Cheers
Mark

- --
Mark Broadbent <markb at wetlettuce.com>

Web: www.wetlettuce.com
LUG: www.herefordshire.lug.org.uk
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