Re; MTD (2) Block Driver broken

[Gareth Bult]

> I think you'll find it's configurable. 

Bit like the list's spam detection then ?

> I don't have a religious objection to HTML. Like I said, there's little
> cause to prefer HTML over plain text for list traffic (and indeed for
> most email), and most of the HTML we reject is spam -- being HTML is a
> fairly good indicator of spam.

Rubbish. All of my mail is by default HTML and has been for > 10 years,
does that mean that the fact the email is from me is a good indicator
that it's spam ?

It is true that a lot of spammers use HTML, however a many don't. It's
AN indicator, it's also a very unreliable indicator. From where I'm
sitting at the moment, the "big" guys (from whom you can un-subscribe)
are using HTML, everyone else is trying every trick in the book to avoid
detection, one popular trick is not to use HTML.

After checking, 23 emails got through my filters so far this week, 4 of
them were HTML. One was Dell, one was Google .. 

> I spend a _lot_ of time reading email each day, and almost none of it is
> HTML -- it's plain text, in a typeface I have carefully selected to be
> easily readable. HTML mail renders differently and is thus harder to
> read. 

Yeah, right, in 1995 maybe ..

> Not a _lot_ harder, mind you, but it's unfamiliar enough that it
> causes me to stop and look rather than just taking in what it says at a
> glance. Mostly I don't actually stop and look; mostly I just delete it. 
> 
> I _could_ spend some of my time on decoding gratuitously HTML-encoded
> mail, or I could spend all of my available time on the people who can be
> bothered to be polite. My time is limited enough at the moment anyway
> that I really don't want to waste it.

Mmm, fortunately my talents extend to reading text in different
typefaces without undue delay. Although I don't like wasting time I am
prepared to spend an additional 1% of my reading time on less than
perfectly formed email messages.

Basically what you're saying is that it's your list and you'll set the
rules as you like because it's your time that's being spent reading the
emails.

This is fair enough and it's why I left the list.


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