Re: [admin] Mail List Policy, Usage, Etiquette, etc. & Top-posting

On 5/29/12 6:52 PM, "Tab Atkins Jr." <jackalmage@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Tue, May 29, 2012 at 9:28 AM, Jean-Claude Dufourd
><jean-claude.dufourd@telecom-paristech.fr> wrote:
>> On 29/5/12 17:56 , Julian Reschke wrote:
>>>
>>> On 2012-05-29 16:53, Glenn Maynard wrote:
>>>>
>>>> On Tue, May 29, 2012 at 9:22 AM, Arthur Barstow <art.barstow@nokia.com
>>>> <mailto:art.barstow@nokia.com>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>      * Messages should be encoded usingplain text
>>>> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_text>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> No, messages should have a plaintext *version* (MIME alternative).
>>>>It's
>>>> common and useful to use HTML messages, especially when posting about
>>>> actual spec text, where being able to use italics and bold is
>>>>extremely
>>>> useful.  This is quite a relic; I havn't heard anyone make the "emails
>>>> should only be in plain text" claim in a decade or so.
>>>
>>>
>>> Emails should only be in plain text.
>>
>> JCD: It would be easier for me to comply with this rule if I understood
>>the
>> rationale.
>> My perception is that this rule is not relevant any more.
>>
>> Against this rule, I claim that the readability of replies in text-only
>> threads is much worse, unless the replier spends ages paying attention
>>to
>> text formatting by hand which is not acceptable. At least, that was the
>>case
>> the last time I tried.
>
>There are several fairly simple reasons supporting Glenn's point
>(Julian's is simple excessive):

You forgot an important one: the archives don't support HTML. A great deal
of information might get lost if you're relying on HTML formatting to
convey your message.

--tobie

Received on Wednesday, 30 May 2012 09:41:37 UTC