The thing is, the FAQ is addressing a problem that just doesn't exist. I, and many other list members, have been sending HTML emails to the list for goodness knows how long, and it isn't a problem.
Has the list failed to deliver any of my emails? Did anyone even know or care that I was sending HTML? Sorry, but the CAPS argument is a complete strawman. If I use ALL CAPS in a message, you will know it and of course you may be annoyed. If my email client posts HTML to the list, you will not know it and you will not care. It makes no difference to anyone. It's a non-issue, but the FAQ makes it an issue - and it's a bit snarky about it. This is harmful to the purpose of the mailing list, which is to provide a useful forum that welcomes newcomers to exchange ThinkPad information. The FAQ would be improved by simply removing this section entirely. Or instead, the FAQ could contain a truly *useful* comment about HTML email: Q: I posted a message to the list, but all of my formatting disappeared. It looks like the message was posted as plain text. What happened? A: The list email software forwards only the text of your message. It removes any HTML formatting. For best results, use common text email conventions such as asterisks for *emphasis* instead of HTML formatting. Would anyone object to that? Thanks, -Mike On Mon, Mar 8, 2010 at 7:34 PM, Rob Bell <[email protected]> wrote: > Good e-mail list etiquette has always been to send plain text versus HTML. > That is especially true with the various and sundry security risks that > propagate via web-based resources such as those that can be inadvertently > distributed via HTML e-mails. Is it up to the sender to ensure security for > the recipient or to make them happy? No. But it is good etiquette to avoid > HTML. Mike - if you choose not to that is your choice, as is the choice of > others to delete HTML e-mails without reading them. To each their own. But > I see nothing wrong with the FAQ encouraging list members to not send HTML > and helping them figure out how to do it. It's kind of like asking that > PEOPLE DON'T SHOUT WITH CAPITAL LETTERS. If you CHOOSE TO SHOUT you > certainly can, and if you irritate enough people with it they will > eventually disregard you or blacklist your address. > > Frankly, I think the current list software may strip out most HTML anyway, > because I can't recall receiving any fully HTML-based e-mails for a long, > long time. But I still think the FAQ can tell people how to disable HTML. > After all, it is just a Q&A tool, not a commandment. > > Rob > > Michael Geary wrote: > > Guys, nobody cares what email client you use. If you prefer a text based >> email client, for security or any other reason, that's entirely your >> choice. >> >> Where the FAQ errs is in asking people to disable outgoing HTML email. >> I've >> been on this list almost 12 years, and I won't comply with that request. >> Why >> should the FAQ ask anyone else to? >> >> Nobody is going to make a global change in their email settings, disabling >> a >> feature that I and many other people find very useful, just because some >> email list they've subscribed to asks them to turn it off. >> >> Now, there certainly could be a *useful* FAQ entry about HTML email, but >> what it says would depend on how the email list software actually handles >> HTML email. I haven't really tested it myself. Does it pass through HTML >> formatting like *italics* and *bold* and >> links<http://stderr.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/thinkpad>, >> >> or does it only forward the text version? >> >> -Mike >> > > _______________________________________________ > Thinkpad mailing list > [email protected] > http://stderr.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/thinkpad > > _______________________________________________ Thinkpad mailing list [email protected] http://stderr.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/thinkpad
