Kent Christensen on 5/29/99 11:13 AM wrote

>re:  excuse me, etc.
>
>Solution is for somone to post how to avoid sending HTML
>mail.
>
>For Netscape:
>In address book, make sure "prefers to receive rich text
>(html) mail is UNCHECKED.
>
>This works for me because I'm in digest mode and never click
>"reply" to compose messages--that is, "vanagon@gerry.com" is
>an address book entry.  If I were to click "reply," my
>system has an "options" button and to avoid sending html I
>must click "plain text."
>
>The rule for Vanagon list (and just about any other list I
>think) is to NEVER send html mail.
>
>Can someone post how to accomplish same for Eudora and
>others?
>
happy to oblige, this is also from the Tidbits Etiquette 102.  I wrote
this in DC this am on my powerbook.  I am next logging in after 10:00pm
EDT, sorry if there are already answers to this request.

*************************
**Don't Send HTML Mail** -- I commented in the previous article
   that you should avoid using text styles or colors in messages for
   mailing lists because there's no telling what people will see.
   This point deserves some expansion, because it can be more
   problematic than I implied.

   Many email programs, including such popular ones as Emailer, can't
   render HTML-formatted messages, and even as HTML support improves,
   there will be plenty of people who won't upgrade or who prefer to
   use programs that will never support HTML formatting. As with
   attachments, then, there will be numerous people on almost any
   mailing list who won't be able to read your message as you
   intended. (Eudora Pro offers the option of sending both styled and
   plain text to avoid this problem.) Worse, depending on how you've
   sent the message and on the email programs of the recipients, they
   may see the straight HTML markup. And if someone replies to the
   HTML formatted message, the quoting can render the message even
   more unreadable.

   Some mailing lists explicitly forbid the use of HTML formatted
   messages for this reason, and even if that's not specifically true
   of the lists you frequent, it's best to avoid sending messages
   with text styles to mailing lists.

   Some email programs generate HTML formatting by default, so you
   may have to change settings to prevent it. For the programs listed
   below, I've identified the location of the formatting controls.
   Note that I'm using the arrow (->) as a shorthand notation
   indicating navigation, so the first item below would expand to:
   "From the Special menu, choose Settings, then scroll down to the
   Styled Text settings panel."

* Eudora Pro (Mac): Special -> Settings -> Styled Text
* Eudora Pro (Windows): Tools -> Options -> Styled Text
* Netscape Communicator (Mac/Windows): Edit -> Preferences -> Mail
   & Newsgroups -> Formatting
* Outlook Express (Mac): Edit -> Preferences -> Message
   Composition
* Outlook Express (Windows): Tools -> Options -> Send

-peace
Ed Stevens
Valley Forge PA