Hi there,
A few recent postings have supported plain text, a few have not.
Although a few folks may like to have the latest greatest widgets for
their mail, I believe that there are compelling reasons for prefering
plain text.
1) Not all list users have access to the latest technology. My list has
many subscribers from places where the newest software is not available.
Why should they be excluded because their clients cannot easily read a
message in a fancy format.
2) The purpose of e-mail is to send information. If techno-widgets get
in the way of sending information, then it is fundamentally
anti-thetical to the whole purpose of the technology.
3) Travel. When I travel I still have to be able to keep an eye on my
list. Often as not, simple telnet access is the easiest and cheapest way
to read mail. Telnet access (for me at least), means going back to
'senior' software like elm. I can easily read plain text in elm. In
other formats, I may be able to read messages, I may not. So, for those
of us who travel, plain text is preferable.
4) 'Critters'. The [grossly misnamed] signature class of virae (like KAK
worm) thrive due to the security problems that exist with things like
javascript. These critters travel just below the surface of pretty
colours and fonts. As there is no attachment to click on, this is an
especially nasty class of critters. Plain text avoids these pitfalls.
So, one can either go for a fancy look, or avoid the risk of serious
problems. I know which I prefer.
5) Survival. Plain text can be easily read in DOS, Win-various, UNIX
[although watch those line feeds!], or whatever. Other formats may or
may not be interoperable.
Although the proverbial 900lb Gorilla (AOL) may disagree, there are good
reasons to stay with plain text. When there is a new technology
available, some will want to use it. However, as list managers, we
should encourage best practices. As I understand it, this is still plain
text.
All the best,
Istvan
PHILOSOP Moderator
P.s. If you think this message looks boring, do a <control-A>, followed
by a <control-C>, start Word (or your favorite program) and hit
<control-V> and then jazz up this message to your heart's desire. Of
course, this assumes you are on a Winbox... ;)
--
Istvan S. N. Berkeley, Ph.D.
Philosophy & Cognitive Science E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette
P.O. Box 43770 Tel: +1 337 482-6807
Lafayette, LA 70504-3770 Fax: +1 337 482-5002
USA http://www.ucs.louisiana.edu/~isb9112
