David Starner wrote,
> The choice of using single-byte character sets isn't always voluntary.
> That's why we should use ISO-2022, not Unicode. Or we can expect
> people to fix their systems. What systems are we talking about, that
> support Unicode but compel you to use plain text? The use of Twitter
> is surely voluntary.
This marketing-related web page,
https://litmus.com/blog/best-practices-for-plain-text-emails-a-look-at-why-theyre-important
...lists various reasons for using plain-text e-mail. Here’s an excerpt.
“Some people simply prefer it. Plain and simple—some people prefer text
emails. ... Some users may also see HTML emails as a security and
privacy risk, and choose not to load any images and have visibility over
all links that are included in an email. In addition, the increased
bandwidth that image-heavy emails tend to consume is another driver of
why users simply prefer plain-text emails.”
Besides marketing, there’s also newsletters and e-mail discussion
groups. Some of those discussion groups are probably scholarly. Anyone
involved in that would likely embrace ‘super cool Unicode text magic’
and it’s surprising if none of them have stumbled across the math
alphanumerics yet.
A web search for the string “plain text only” leads to all manner of
applications for which searchers are trying to control their
environments. There’s all kinds of reasons why some people prefer to
use plain-text, it’s often an informed choice and it isn’t limited to
e-mail.
It’s true that people don’t have to use Twitter. People don’t have to
turn on their computers, either.
