Re: Copying HTML

• From: David Woolley <david@djwhome.demon.co.uk>
• Date: Thu, 16 Jan 2003 07:33:20 +0000 (GMT)
• To: www-html@w3.org
• Message-Id: <200301160733.h0G7XKF02813@djwhome.demon.co.uk>

> They use HTML instead of something like MS Word because in
> email it's the only alternative to plain text. (BTW, I
> wouldn't consider email to be "web" content.)

They actually use HTML because the big commercial email program producers
never read the MIME specifications, which from the very beginning had
a rich text format.  I'm not sure of the current situation, but early
HTML Outlooks didn't understand the MIME rich text format!

(Partly, I think it has to do with fashion - "HTML" (popular definition)
was and is very fashionable - and partly to do with leveraging their
existing HTML engines.  Generally, though, the "HTML" is invalid and
basically presentational.)

Also, Microsoft also have MS-TNEF, as a proprietory rich text format.
One of yesterday's most controversial articles had an MS-TNEF alternative.
(HTML email is basically proprietory, as it assumes a particular rendering
engine.)

Received on Thursday, 16 January 2003 02:49:33 UTC