NOT OT: re plain text vs HTML

[Dazed_75]

Technomage wrote:
>There are, in fact, a few of us (like me) who use text only readers for
>various reasons (such as visual impairment) and html formatted messages
>are definitely the bane of out existence.
>
>its been proper etiquette on the internet since its inception that mail
>usually is plain text and if you wish to send media (pictures, etc) that
>its attached (in mime printable form). this may seem archaic, but it
>generally works out well for most of us.
>
>now my client here can read html formatted messages, but the speech
>device will not read me the output, instead it will read the underlying
>source of the text (which gets noisy, frustrating, and tends to have me
>filter such without even reading it)
>
>I, for one, have a problem with such mails and tend to filter them into
>the junk box. if anything important gets in there, its gone (if its
>really important, the sender will have sent as plain text with an html
>attachment <preferred>. this way, I can still read it and those with
>extra features can use the html to their own contentment).
>
>sorry of I may seem a bit terse toward those using html formatted text
>messages, but you folks should be aware there are almost 30 million
>others like me and we would rather not have our lives made any harder
>than it already is.

Finally a good reason to use plain text as opposed to reasons to avoid
HTML.  I confess this had not occurred to me.  I would have think that
modern text readers would read HTML embedded text without source tags
etc. even had I thought about it.  If there are not, there certainly
need to be.  Sounds like an opportunity for someone.

I use gmail for this list and a few other things.  gmail really has no
formatting means for plain text which is one reason to prefer the
"Rich formatting" option.  To even include technomages comment as
"quoted" I had to manually insert the symbols on each line.  Other
email clients offer more formatting tools for plain text.  Sounds like
a suggestion to send to google.

For most email I use Thunderbird.  Thunderbird has an option that says
"When sending messages in HTML and one or more recipients are not
listed as being able to receive HTML:"
- Ask me what to do
- Convert the message to plain text
- Send the message in HTML anyway
- Send the message in both plain text and HTML

I think the last option is the default, but all I know for sure is
that is what mine is set to.  I never checked whether that means it
sends both to all recipients or separate sends for plain text
recipients.  Would that email had something similar.

**** Technomage, do you know if your reader works right for a message
that Thunderbird sends with that 4th option?

The Tbird address book allows you to specify for each recipient what
format they prefer.  I notice also that the send options in
Thunderbird allow format selection based on the destination domain.
Mine shows a number of domains under HTML, but none under Plain Text
-- 
Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps, for he is the only
animal that is struck with the difference between what things are and
what they ought to be.
  - William Hazlitt