Standards Speech (was Re: [MR] text vs HTML email)

[batman at va.adelphia.net]

On 24-Sep-2001 Christofe DuBois wrote:

Sigh. I've been biting my tongue up until now, but this is the last
straw. Christofe, please don't feel that I am singling you
out. Responding to your message as a means to express my opinion is
partly a matter of timing, and partly that you happen to have laid it
out in a manner that makes it convenient for me to respond on a point
by point basis.

> Unfortunately, I have found in designing sites that there appear to be two
> mindsets for the 'Net...

OK, Let's start with a minor point. The Web is not the Net. It is the most
common use for the Net, and the thing that brought scads of people that
would never before have tried it to get Net connections. The Net existed
for decades before people decided it was cool, and would still be useful
even if HTTP was banned from it.

> The first is for those of us who want the entertainment value that the 'Net
> gives us...  we like Flash sites and shockwave.com and pretty pictures and
> nice colors.

And those of you that prefer proprietary, non-standard protocols, that
are "free" if you give up some personal information and come with a
fine assortment of additional security problems are welcome to do
so. I prefer to stick to standards (but will admit to occasionally
turning on one of them long enough to see a movie preview or do
something similar).

> The second is for those who use the 'Net for research. period.  If the
> Internet consisted of nothing but black text on a white background, they'd
> be happy as clams.
> 
> The former outnumbers the latter, but not by as much when dealing with the
> Society-  I am getting almost a 15% visit ratio to THE HUNT of text-only
> browsers...
> 
> I simply think that for those 15% that don't like HTML-enabled messages,
> email will simply be frustrating from time to time.  The information is
> still there...
> 
> But remember, you 15%, that for every one of you who doesn't use the 'Net
> for fun, there are 6 of us who do...  Minority rights, but majority rules...

So when did standards compliance become a democracy? Can a large number
of drivers get together and vote to re-arrange the lanes or change the
speed limits? And how do you decide when a sufficient number of users
of the roads (or the Net, or whatever) have been heard from?

To wax technical (also know as "geeking out") for a minute...
Until MIME was standardized, E-mail was 7-bit ASCII. And HTML is still
a separate MIME type (it is "text/html", not "text/plain"). The
primary message body should still be plain text, and HTML should only
form and alternative format attachment.

The correct answer to a mailer that sends only HTML mail is not, "Oh
well, if AOL does it we have no choice," but for everybody affected
(both AOL customers and those who receive screwed up mail) to suggest
to AOL that perhaps they should follow standards (and maybe even
common usage conventions) instead of pretending that they can
arbitrarily set them.

========================================================================
Michael the Eclectic, House Falconguard, Barony of Ponte Alto, Atlantia.
Vert, on an inverted chevron or, a reremouse(bat) displayed sable.

Armed man = citizen.  Unarmed man = subject.

Of course these are MY opinions! Whattya think, my EMPLOYER
could've thought this stuff up?