Re: HTML email client support

Stefan Mies, Fri, 24 Jan 2014 15:43:34 +0000:
> Hello,
>  
> in Germany we started a cooperation with Felix Sasaki in the 
> beginning of November 2013. We are in contact with some German Web 
> Email Client provider and working on a concept.
> We identify a lot of problem, for example: Security, CSS, Multimedia 
> Content.

Is the plan to only define a subset, for authors? Or rules for vendors? 
Or both?

What about the relationship between HTML and plain text when a messages 
contain both formats? Traditionally, many have preferred the plain text 
version, in that case. However, frequently there is way too much white 
space [read: line breaks] in the plain text version (apparently 
resulting from bad conversion from rich to plain text) to the degree 
that the advantages of the plain text format is lost, at least to me. 
Would rules for conversion to plain be due?

Regarding CSS, what about the DOCTYPE - it is very typical that HTML 
email do not include DOCTYPE. Not all clients can send the DOCTYPE 
either, it seems. (E.g. it was at least *hard* to get Thunderbird to 
include it, last I tried.) And, based on some online service I tested, 
I had the impression that one, perhaps irrelevant, email client did not 
even tolerate the DOCTYPE. [A version of Outlook, I think.] (Which 
reminds me: It is so difficult to *test* HTML mail … - where is the 
”live HTML mail viewer”?)

HTML mail without DOCTYPE type is typically rendered in quirks mode. 
Does it have to be that way? What if it is rendered in a browser, in a 
Web mail solution? Should the DOCTYPE then be added? Two, possible 
solutions: Recommend the DOCTYPE in HTML mail. Or: Use no-quirks mode 
for all HTML mail, even when DOCTYPE is lacking.  (And thus, just add 
the DOCTYPE when rendering in browser.) Alternatively, specify that 
HTML mail should be quirks mode, while other HTML should be no-quirks 
mode. Yet another alternative: Recommend quirks-mode, and define the 
"polyglot" format for quirks-mode and non-quirks mode - the subset that 
works the same regardless of quirks or no-quirks. (Even if HTML5 
specifies <!DOCTYPE html>, on the deeper level, it is evident that 
HTML5 tries to get rid of the DOCTYPE entirely.)

> It is our aim to establish a working group in the next view 
> days. It will be very helpful to involve a lot of people from the 
> beginning.
>  
> Greetings Stefan
-- 
leif halvard silli

Received on Monday, 27 January 2014 18:33:53 UTC