Re: MIME/ascii/HTML annoyance etc.... -Reply

["Bill Jones" <wejones@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> 
> Well, I didn't want to get into this,

I didn't want to get into it either.
> 
> Gentlemen, IMHO, you are 'making sounds' EXACTLY  like the AM gang
> did when griping about those "damn Single Side Banders"  back in the late
> '50s! ... my heavens, it MUST take at LEAST 3 extra seconds to download
> the MIME or HTML version of the message ... really a big deal, eh? 

I think you are grossly underestimating the 
problem.  Some of this HTML will clobber some 
"state of the art" mail readers (and I'm talking 
Microsoft here) that are less than a year old, 
and by clobber, I mean result in faults that 
terminate the program, result in the loss of all 
messages received prior to the HTML message, and 
lock up the mail server so that no other mail can 
be received until the offending message is 
removed from the server, either by using another 
mail reader or with the assistance of the ISP 
superuser.  I have lost over 500 messages thanks 
to people using HTML in their messages. It 
doesn't happen anymore, because I finally 
switched to another mail reader, which is not as 
convenient as the one I used to use, but at least 
doesn't bomb on HTML messages.   Even programs 
that handle HTML have problems because the new 
programs are putting newer and newer and neater 
and neater features that are only handled by 
their software, without thinking about what 
happens to the recipients.

> And ... no, I do NOT include HTML nor do I use MIME ... I do it in text, but I
> surely don't mind when I receive an Email which has both.  Is this issue
> REALLY worth arguing about?
> 
 I think that in virtually every other mailing 
list I am on, the use of HTML is considered as 
being poor manners, and I think it should be here 
too, so I think it is worth arguing about.  To 
purposely use a format that you know annoys most 
of the recipients of your message, and causes 
damage in the way of lost messages or 
annoying work to delete the messages  to others, 
just because you (and I don't mean you 
specifically, but those that use HTML in general) 
think that the rest of the world should use the 
same software that you do shows a great lack of 
consideration for the other readers of the list.  
 I do NOT think that sending a 1 line message 
encoded with 3 or 4 pages of font and 
highlighting info is really an advancement in the 
state of the art of communications.  It would be 
more efficient to include another sentence saying 
highlight the third word and color the 4th word 
blue, or something like that.   The problem with 
all these new mail formats is that the changes 
are coming out MUCH faster than the reader 
software can keep up with the changes.  It is 
unreasonable to expect the readers to change to 
new software every couple months.  There are 
other ways of getting fancy info to those who 
want it. You can make it available on a web page, 
or you can include it as a zipped attachment, 
since a binary zipped file won't bother most mail 
readers.  Sending it as the text of the message 
is at best poor manners, can be worse.    

+----------------------------------------------+
| Bill Jones, N3JLQ,Sweden, Maine  Zone 4 1/2  |
| wejones@megalink.net                         |
| http://www.megalink.net/~wejones             |
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