Re: [Evolution] Evolution Editor needs serious attention

[Pete Biggs <pete biggs org uk>]

> If tongue in cheek then smiley, if serious then don't you think that
> would be rather a retrograde step since almost every email these days
> is html. 

I think that's a bit of a blanket statement - it depends on the
audience.

> Already I have been told off for sending html mail to this list (which
> as far as I am concerned is the normal default for email and there was
> nothing I saw on joining the list to suggest that plain text was
> required and top-posting was banned etc) 

The problem is that dealing with technical issues, where you have
multiple issues in a single email, is much better handled using plain
text with comments interspersed in the reply and placed where they
relate to the specific issue. HTML does not make this an easy process -
especially when you take into account the fact that rendering of HTML
is dependent on a specific clients settings and it may not look like
what you think.

Top posting "Outlook style" means it is much more likely that people
don't trim their replies ending up with massive emails with a shed load
of stuff at the bottom that no one ever reads anyway.  You then have to
perform linguistic gymnastics to try and explain what you are referring
to in the myriad of replies: "you said in reply to X when the replied
to Z that Y was ..."

> -  if the list doesn't want
> html email then the appropriate mailman setting should be turned on so
> that it converts rich text to plain text at the server automatically
> (and also an automatic welcome email which sets out all these rules
> would help).

Yes, and I thought it did.
 
> If Evolution was to join the ranks of obscure text only mail clients
> then wouldn't it loose most of its userbase?
>
> I'll assume it was a joke suggestion - but after the other comments
> I've seen on here I'm worried that it might not be! Hence my reply; I
> don't want to invest my time in transferring to a client that is going
> back to the future.
I don't think it was a very serious suggestion - HTML/Rich text mail is
probably here to stay. I personally don't like it as it seriously
introduces a level of superfluous complexity to most emails that is not
necessary - there is absolutely no need for Karen in HR to send me an
email with a one word answer in blue comic sans on an off-white
background - a 10k email for one word.

I use HTML email when necessary, but it's rare. I use text for
virtually everything.

P.