I agree that offering your audience the option of viewing either a text-only or html version is ideal. This can partly be achieved (email client support permitting) by including both the HTML version and the text-only version as alternate MIME parts. At least that way anyone who actually prefers to view the rich content (as I do simply because I find it quicker to "see" what an email is about than read the entire text) can do so...
________________________________________ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Matt Barber Sent: 05 June 2008 10:01 To: backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk Subject: Re: [backstage] BBC Look East HTML rich newsletter On Thu, Jun 5, 2008 at 9:39 AM, Sean DALY <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: If I may add my 2 cents, I think e-mail newsletters should always have a text-only option with a link to the graphics-rich version. I am subscribed to fairly vast number of newsletters and I generally don't read them, I search them for keywords (filters or manually). Plain text are ideal as a lowest common denominator for portable gadgets; easy to forward plain text newsletters to my work or personal e-mail accounts and read the graphics-rich versions on comfortable screens. And, for the security-conscious (I am thinking of my aging personal Windows box but also Google mail which scrubs images by default), plain text offers a far more secure way to receive a flood of mail with the rich version just an extra click away. Sean, I agree with this because I too like to read over quick information and then go further if a story interests me, usually to the website directly. But also it's important in my opinion to consider pushing this forward a little to take advantage of the faster connections and computers around now, to enhance experience and to provide newer, if not more effective - at least more interesting and engaging - content. Maybe the newsletter format isn't for this, as you say, text works really well on portables, they're cross compatible with everyone and importantly more secure. For me, newsletters offer a decent bridge between the inbox (where I pay a lot of attention) and the site's content. There's a fine line between interesting (click and visit the site), and slow, irrelevant and cumbersome (ignore and delete). Too much rich content can cross this line - but a little well used rich content can also work in favour too. This is why criticism is important I reckon especially in the early stages. - Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. Unofficial list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/
