Re: [Asrg] "more readable"

[Kee Hinckley <nazgul@somewhere.com>]

At 6:12 PM -0500 6/20/03, gep2@terabites.com wrote:
> I think you ought to let the READER be the judge of what the READER finds the
> most readable... based on THEIR screen, THEIR vision, THEIR color preferences,
> THEIR screen resolution, etc etc.
This battle was fought and lost with HTML web sites.  Why do you 
think you'll have any more luck winning it with email?

99.9% of the people sending email really don't care.  Actually, I'd 
put it stronger than that.  When they make a document on the screen, 
they want it to appear the same way on the printer.  When the fax it 
to someone, they want it to come out the same on the remote side. 
When the paper mail it to someone, they want it the same way on the 
other side.  So not surprisingly they have this weird idea that the 
recipient should see the email the way they composed it.  That's how 
it works in real life.  That's how they want it to work on their 
computer.

And don't talk to me about bits.  Or dangerous content.  Having your 
computer on the internet is dangerous.  But we think it's worthwhile. 
You've made an apriori decision that HTML email isn't okay with you. 
Great.  Don't accept it. But don't try and massively complicate 
everyone's life just because of your personal preference.  You want 
to make everyone's machine keep track of who they have ever 
communicated with (On this machine?  With this email program?  With 
this email address?  With this ISP?).  You want to change the default 
behavior of 90% of the MUAs out there.  You want to change the 
behavior of every MTA out there that receives email (or else every 
MUA has to add the code for tracking and bouncing).  You want to 
explain to the users how to change these settings, and have *them* 
keep track of whether they have every sent mail to a particular user 
at this particular email address and from this particular address 
before, and then if not, have them change a setting that they don't 
even understand.

And all to bring about a change that spammers can adapt to in less 
than a week.  Because you know what?  They didn't need HTML to sell 2 
million Iraqi most-wanted cards in two weeks.  They didn't need HTML 
to con people into flying to Nigeria and getting killed.  And they 
certainly don't need it to sell penis expanders.

Sure, it would be wonderful if there were some directory of what 
formats people would accept, and if you could easily keep track of 
whether you've sent mail to someone before, and they could easily 
keep track of whether they've received mail from you before.  We 
abandoned those things when we abandoned X.400/X.500.  This is good 
old SMTP/MIME email.  No directories.  No concept of identity.  No 
concept of preferences.  That is the environment we are working in. 
And futhermore.  It has nothing to do with spam.  Please take the 
topic somewhere appropriate.

Your proposal doesn't amaze me.  I've seen lots of people make the 
same complaint, myself included.  What amazes me is that you think 
it's simple.  Email is an END-USER technology, it's not some buried 
network protocol.  NOTHING about it is simple.
--
Kee Hinckley
http://www.messagefire.com/          Anti-Spam Service for your POP Account
http://commons.somewhere.com/buzz/   Writings on Technology and Society

I'm not sure which upsets me more: that people are so unwilling to accept
responsibility for their own actions, or that they are so eager to regulate
everyone else's.

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