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RE: [TCLUG:807] A Mail List Suggestion



Just my two-cents...

I think that HTML mail is a good and more-or-less effective way to provide
richness to what has traditionally been plain text. When I was a
technology/communication major in college, I studied the communication
capabilities of differing media (phone, face-to-face, e-mail, etc), and the
major gripe about e-mail was that it wasn't expressive enough. The smiley
faces have helped, but still aren't enough. We get over 80% of meaning in
face-to-face conversation by expressions, gestures, and tone of voice. Text
isn't capable of this, but with some enhancements, it could do better.

Unfortunately, the standard hasn't caught on yet. Worse, some e-mail clients
didn't also send the text/plain MIME type with the text/HTML file. Outlook
Express, if I'm correct, may have been one of them.

On the other hand, anyone who complains about their *client* getting
gibberish when both MIME types are in the message is responsible for their
own problem. I have NO PROBLEM with shell-based clients (I often use Pine
myself), but even Pine has been able to distinguish between the two MIME
types for over a year, displaying the text/plain type and including the
other as an attachment. Version 4.0 supposedly even adds "support" for the
text/HTML type (haven't played with it myself, however ;-) ).

I also agree that flaming people and telling them that their attempt to
communicate resulted in "crap" won't help our cause.

Again, just my two-cents. Intellient criticism is welcomed.

Neal

-----Original Message-----
From: Bob Nolte [mailto:bob.nolte@pc4u.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 05, 1998 8:01 AM
To: TCLUG
Subject: [TCLUG:807] A Mail List Suggestion


We should have a notice on the "Mailing List" web page regarding the
annoyance to users re HTML mail.

Flaming people about their mail programs won't do a lot for promoting Linux.
This message was sent via Outlook Express with HTML shut off. If there's
still something wrong with the format, someone should tell me what it is.

I recently shut off HTML on a client's Eudora Pro computer because it would
not send mail to a Sharp Mobilon hand-held PC for the same reason. It's a
heck of a lot more trouble to find the setting in Eudora.

HTML mail is not just a Pine problem, although sooner or later, a modern day
replacement for Pine needs to be found,-one which uses the word delete
instead of expunge <g>.

Bob Nolte


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