HTML and email [was Re: Linux PDAs/Pocket PCs]

[Brian Densmore]

Well there is another good reason to turn off HTML. Outlook (or is it
LOOKOUT), will launch Explorer with HTML email. Thus if you have the
preview pane up and you don't have the right patch and you get an email
from someone with a virus like "snow white". The virus will
automatically launch and infect the poor soul just reading his LUG email
on a windoze box @work. Fortunately for my, we have current virus
definitions, and I didn't infect our network. All I got was a little pop
up saying hey there's a virus in that email.

The moral here: well there could be many, but the way I see it HTML is
for webpages. Email has it's own format and RFCs. But I really don't
care if you send email in HTML, or XML or SGML, or plain text. It of
course makes it harder for certain people to read, without a reader that
renders HTML. One thing that should be done is to at least make sure if
you send HTML, you're also sending text so those who choose not to read
HTML can also read your posts. 

$0.02,
Brian

> -----Original Message-----
> From: DCT Jared Smith [mailto:jared at dctkc.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2002 8:55 AM
> To: kclug at kclug.org
> Subject: Re: Linux PDAs/Pocket PCs
> 
> 
> >PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR HTML FORMATTING WHEN SENDING TO THE LIST!
> 
> Response 1:
> 
> What kind of cheezy mail reader do
> you have which can't comprehend HTML?
> have you considered upgrading to
> something written in at least the 
> late 90s? Read your mail with a pipe 
> through Lynx, if you must!
> 
> Continually berating all the people 
> on this list for attention to 
> something which is fundamentally 
> voluntary?
> 
> As for me, I prefer everyone to
> write their e-mail in columns no
> wider than 45 columns; you didn't do
> that, now did you.
> 
> Response 2:
> 
> Actually, it might be more fruitful 
> for you to clarify WHY you want people 
> to turn off their HTML. It's most 
> likely because you don't like those 
> spammers who include an image in their 
> HTML message, which is served off 
> their site, which contains an encrypted 
> code which tells them that you read 
> their e-mail, which makes their spam 
> list more valuable. However, I believe
> you are making the logical fallacy of
> equivocation here, which is that all 
> e-mailers to this list are using such 
> techniques, when in fact some of us 
> simply like HTML formatted e-mail.
> 
> Peach background. A little diversity.
> 
> -Jared.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> majordomo at kclug.org
>