Why HTML in E-Mail is a Bad Idea
公式文書，認める: This page was 初めは written in 1998, 持続するd 活発に through 2004, and was sporadically updated through 2006. The author's feelings on HTML in email have 大部分は changed since then (I no longer mind it much, and even send it myself in some 状況s). This page is no longer 活発に updated.
Have a comment on the practice of using HTML (rich text / formatted) email? A discussion topic for this page is 利用できる here.
You may have been directed to this page because a message you sent was composed in HTML. This may have happened without you even knowing it, because Microsoft 見通し is configured to send HTML e-mail to all 受取人s by default. I believe that HTML e-mail is one of the uglier things Microsoft has wrought upon the Internet, and this page 存在するs to explain some of the 推論する／理由s why I feel that way. It's not that I don't think there are some nice things about HTML e-mail, just that I believe the 推論する／理由s below far outweigh any 利益s it 供給するs.
If you take away only one thing from this page, let it be this: When you send HTML email, you have no 保証（人） that your message will be A) readable at all or B) visually legible to the 受取人. With plain text email, you always have that 保証（人）, no 事柄 what mail （弁護士の）依頼人 the 受取人 is using.
公式文書，認める: I have received a 高度に 詳細（に述べる）d, point-by-point rebuttal to the points made on this page and, in the 利益／興味 of 公正に／かなり 現在のing both 味方するs of the 問題／発行する, have 地位，任命するd it here.
Take the 投票: For some people, feelings about HTML-formatted email have changed since this 文書 was first written in the late 90s. Use this 投票 to let us know whether you still dislike HTML in email, or have grown to 受託する or even like it.
（米）棚上げする／（英）提議する of Contents
- The Problem(s) with HTML E-Mail
- How Your Mail Might Look to Others
- Corroboration
- How To 直す／買収する，八百長をする the Problem
HTML in e-mail is a bad idea ...
- Because HTML is for making web pages and plain text is for simple communications. If you're looking to create a web page or 令状 a 調書をとる／予約する, 罰金. But e-mail messages are not web pages or 調書をとる／予約するs. e-mail was designed for simple messaging. Anything else detracts, rather than 追加するs to its 核心 functionality. As Andy Roony said, "E-mail is simple. Like the pencil, it just 作品." 井戸／弁護士席, e-mail is not simple -- and it doesn't always work -- when HTML is 伴う／関わるd.
- Because it encourages people to 表明する themselves with fancy formatting
rather than with carefully chosen words.
- Because it introduces compatibility problems with text-based （弁護士の）依頼人s like the hundreds of thousands of Pine 使用者s out there (see screenshot below). Update: Modern 見解／翻訳／版s of pine and other text-based （弁護士の）依頼人s are able to 陳列する，発揮する the plain-text 補欠／交替の／交替する 見解／翻訳／版 just 罰金, so this is いっそう少なく of a problem than it used to be.
- SpamAssassin and many other spam filters 負わせる the "spamminess" of 後継の messages on many factors, and HTML formatting is one of them. An innocent email that would 普通は not 誘発する／引き起こす spam filters may get a higher spamminess 最高位の if HTML formatting is 伴う／関わるd.
- Because it introduces accessibility problems. When you 令状 in plain text, the receiving mail （弁護士の）依頼人 （判決などを）下すs the text in whatever font the reader chooses. When you 判型 email with HTML, the sender 支配（する）／統制するs the formatting. But this is a 罠（にかける）: You only think your message will （判決などを）下す the same way to the テレビ視聴者 as it appears to the sender. In reality, the receiver can 結局最後にはーなる squinting because the font looks so tiny, or 副／悪徳行為 versa. HTML is not （判決などを）下すd the same way from one 見解（をとる）ing （弁護士の）依頼人 to the next - all 保証（人） of accessiblity goes out the window. This is 特に problematic for visually impaired persons.
- Because it can introduce 安全 問題／発行するs and trojan horses -- it's a gateway to danger as any 見通し 使用者 can tell you. HTML can 含む any number of scripts, dangerous links, 支配（する）／統制するs, etc.
- Because it takes a nice, short two-line e-mail 団体／死体 and makes it 15 lines long (see screenshot below).
- Because it more than （テニスなどの）ダブルス the size of e-mails as （弁護士の）依頼人s "扱う" the 問題／発行する by sending out plain text and HTML 見解／翻訳／版s of the same e-mail. This of course also means 増加するd bandwidth 消費, which -- take 公式文書，認める all you bean 麻薬売人s and IT professionals -- 最終的に 運動s up costs.
- Because it makes email ソフトウェア larger, slower, and more 複雑にするd, 大いに 増加するing the chances of 衝突，墜落s and compatibility problems, 同様に as wasting memory, hard disk space, and CPU cycles. Think about it: to 過程 HTML email, you're 基本的に putting a web browser inside your email program! (To give you an idea of how 堅固に some people feel about this, the person who 与える／捧げるd this also says "There are many who think it's okay just turn off the HTML 選択, but for the above 推論する／理由, I 辞退する to use an email program that even has it as an 選択. I still use Claris Emailer and will never switch to anything else (I have an old Mac at home that I use for nothing but email, so I don't have to worry about ever 存在 軍隊d to 昇格 to a "better" email （弁護士の）依頼人)."
- Because people spend more time choosing a font that the 受取人 probably doesn't even have on their system than in choosing their words carefully.
- Because it wreaks havoc with any mailing 名簿（に載せる）／表（にあげる） that sends out digests.
- Because it 軍隊s programmers 令状ing e-mail （弁護士の）依頼人s to choose between
supporting it and 器具／実施するing features that will 現実に help 扱う e-mail.
- Because it 侵害する／違反するs the e-mail 基準s and 議定書s unnecessarily. Most 使用者s never use any of the "前進するd" 選択s and those who do typically go
overboard -- usually spammers who use HTML's fancy styles as a way to
獲得する attention.
- The only possible reasonable 目的s for HTML e-mail
are simple text styles such as bold and italics which can be 表明するd
_in_ *other* WAYS that are /universally/ readable. :-)
- Because it encourages companies to think it's 承認する to do things like 含む code that will let them know if you're reading their e-mail. This 現実に happened to a friend, who received an e-mail from infobeat asking why he wasn't reading their daily news e-mails. I consider that a 甚だしい／１２ダース 違反 of privacy.
- Because its presence, and the public's complicity with it, encourages the 乱用 of advertising bloat in your inbox. Knowing they can do 注目する，もくろむ-catching 旗，新聞一面トップの大見出し／大々的に報道する 広告s, spammers and 会社／団体s (such as Barnes and Noble) will fill half a page with 広告s for this and that, creating visual and mental clutter we'd all be better off without. We get enough of that on the web - we don't need it in our inboxes 同様に. Matt Pervy 追加するs this 観察:
Some would say that advertising is ひどく reliant on visual elements to be successful. In most 事例／患者s, this is true; but not in the computer 産業. A picture of a CD-RW 運動 部隊 tells us 絶対 nothing about the 製品, other than the fact that it 存在するs. TEXT tells us that it 燃やすs CDR at 16X, 燃やすs CDRW at 10X, and reads at 40X. A picture of a CPU is use-いっそう少なく in advertising. TEXT tells us that it's an Intel Pentium 4 加工業者, running at 1.x Giga-Hertz, 有能な of 爆破ing the etc, etc.
Kari Chisholm (吊りくさび and Clark College) 与える／捧げるs:
America Online （土地などの）細長い一片s and compresses attachments sent to their 使用者s. HTML-mail is often considered an "attachment" to a 正規の／正選手 email, and as such, may never find its 目的地 @aol.com. This is 特に troublesome for folks using AOL 5.0 and earlier - the mail （弁護士の）依頼人 wasn't fully MIME-compliant. See this FAQ Item for more （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状）.
Corroboration: Other Articles on 類似の Topics
Think I'm a 孤独な wolf on this topic? Check out these mainstream 出版（物）s and vendors with 類似の and 関係のある 警告s on HTML email:
Wired News 地位，任命するd an 利益／興味ing piece Friends Don't Email Friends HTML, which is 価値（がある） reading.
The 登録（する） has an article on how the fact you can't 無能にする receiving of HTML Email may have something to do with Microsoft 存在 in the pocket of the spam ロビー.
包括的な 名簿（に載せる）／表（にあげる） of 推論する／理由s why HTML and MIME-based mail is a poor choice in Configuring Mail （弁護士の）依頼人s to Send Plain ASCII Text .
Or try 研究員s 明らかにする／漏らす new Explorer, 見通し 安全 欠陥 at ComputerWorld.
Even the Apple Knowledge Base has an article 警告 使用者s about the dangers of HTML email.
How Your Mail Might Look to Others
So you spend all of that time creating a perfect layout for your message, 攻撃する，衝突する Send, and assume that the 受取人 will see it in the same way. Bad 仮定／引き受けること. There are millions of people using mail （弁護士の）依頼人s that are not HTML-両立できる. No, you can't just say "井戸／弁護士席, they should 昇格 then." It's not as simple as that. People use these （弁護士の）依頼人s because they prefer them, not because they're dumb, or because they don't have the 最新の 科学（工学）技術. People use them because they have features they prefer over 見通し etc., or because they can operate them 経由で telnet 開会／開廷／会期s from any machine in the world, or because they prefer the anti-ウイルス 安全 they get by staying away from HTML e-mail.
Here's an example of how your carefully composed HTML e-mail might look to a 使用者 of just one of the many （弁護士の）依頼人s out there that don't 扱う HTML e-mail (this particular example shows BeatWare Mail-It for BeOS, but this is just an example).
Notice how much space has been used just 令状ing out the HTML header without even getting to the message 団体／死体. HTML e-mail wastes space! Here's another 発射, this time of your fancy-schmancy HTML email as 見解（をとる）d through pine, which is still an immensely popular text-方式 email （弁護士の）依頼人 because it's 雷 急速な／放蕩な, powerful, and can be operated from anywhere.
As you can see, your message is almost 完全に unreadable. 公式文書，認める the sender's 嘘（をつく）, "We 堅固に …に反対する the use of unsolicited email..." Yeah, 権利.
How To 直す／買収する，八百長をする the Problem
If you receive HTML email from people, feel 解放する／自由な to direct them to this page. If you are on mailing 名簿（に載せる）／表（にあげる）s or newsletters that send HTML email, request, no, 需要・要求する that they 申し込む／申し出 an 選択 to receive a plain text 見解／翻訳／版 instead of the formatted 見解／翻訳／版. Most HTML-有能な e-mail （弁護士の）依頼人s will let you 無能にする HTML e-mail globally (for all messages) or on a 受取人-by-受取人 basics. For the 推論する／理由s above, I recommend that everyone 無能にする this feature globally.
Here's how to do it in MS 見通し and 見通し 表明する:
Pull 負かす／撃墜する 道具s | 選択s. Select the Send tab. Look at the section labeled "Mail Sending 判型." Change the 無線で通信する button from "HTML" to "Plain Text."
Al Adcock (aadcock@ipsousa.com) 追加するs:
For 見通し 2000, it's:
道具s | 選択s | Click on the Mail 判型 tab | select Plain Text from the Pulldown box, then click 承認する!
Here's how to do it in Hotmail
You can 確実にする that you're not sending out HTML email from Hotmail accounts by not using the "Rich Text" 選択 in the message compose window. If you dig around in the 選択s, I believe there's a setting that lets you turn off the Rich Text 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業 for all messages.
Xeno (xeno100@crosswinds.逮捕する) 追加するs:
Here's how to do it in Eudora (all types), 見解／翻訳／版 4 and up:
- From the 道具s menu, choose 選択s.
- In the 部類 名簿（に載せる）／表（にあげる）, choose Styled Text.
- Choose the "Send plain text only" 無線で通信する button.
- （疑いを）晴らす the "Send the 署名 with styles" check box.
- （疑いを）晴らす the "Ask me each time" check box.
- With the cursor somewhere on the message 団体／死体, 圧力（をかける） Ctrl-A to select the entire message text, or choose Select All from the Edit menu.
- From the Edit menu, point to the Text cascading menu, and choose （疑いを）晴らす Formatting.
Saint John (StJ at mac dot com) 追加するs:
Something that can be done in Eudora to 削減（する） 負かす／撃墜する on the annoyance of others' HTML is to uncheck all of the codes in Special:Settings...:Styled Text. There's a section at the 底（に届く） of that パネル盤, "When receiving styles, 支払う／賃金 attention to"; unchecking everything makes HTML mail look like plaintext.
Here's how to do it in Netscape 伝達者:
- Click Edit | Preferences
- Click "Mail & Newsgroups" (click the "+" to 拡大する)
- Click Formatting
- Select "Use the plain text editor to compose messages"
Here's how to do it in Apple's Mail.app:
- Pull 負かす／撃墜する Mail | Preferences
- Select "Composing" in the 最高の，を越す icon 列／漕ぐ／騒動
- Change "Default message 判型" to "Plain Text"
- の近くに Preference パネル盤.
Thanks to Lorin Meier (Lorin dot Meier at loherangrin dot de) for this.
Chan-売春婦 Suh 追加するs important （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） to the above:
I'm afraid that unchecking the HTML images, etc. button in Apple Mail 見解（をとる）ing preferences does not stop the 陳列する，発揮する of HTML emails. Rather, it 無能にするs images and other embedded 反対するs. You will still see the text 部分 of the HTML email.
Not only is this 高度に annoying for 推論する／理由s you について言及するd, but it looks really ugly, 特に if, as is frequently done nowadays, 確かな 重要な parts of the message are 含む／封じ込めるd in the images.
Luckily, there is a way to 軍隊 Apple Mail to choose a plain text 代案／選択肢, if 利用できる. 現在／一般に, you can do this manually for each email by choosing a menu 選択. Here's how to do it automatically:
やめる Apple Mail first, then open the 終点 appliation and type:
defaults 令状 com.apple.mail PreferPlainText -bool TRUE
That's it! Next time you start Mail, you'll notice the difference. To undo this change, run same 命令（する） again but with FALSE at the end.
Here's how to do it in MS 側近 for Mac OS X:
Even though it's a Microsoft 製品, 側近 is a 広大な／多数の／重要な 選択 because it gives you the 肉親，親類d of 統合するd email, 接触するs, 公式文書，認めるs, to-do 名簿（に載せる）／表（にあげる）s, and calendars you get with 見通し, but without any of the viral susceptibilities (there are still no known ウイルスs for Mac OS X or 偉業／利用するs for 側近).
To 無能にする all HTML email in 側近, pull 負かす／撃墜する 側近 | Mail and News Preferences. Uncheck the "Show HTML Formatting toolbar" box and 始める，決める the Mail 判型 picklist to "Plain Text."
How to switch off HTML in Mozilla 1.6 for Mac:
1. Click on Edit
2. Select Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings
3. Select Composition & 演説（する）／住所ing
4. Unclick Compose message in HTML 判型
Here's how to do it in Pegasus Mail:
Go to 道具s-選択s-去っていく／社交的な Mail-Message Formatting and tick the box "無能にする all text styling 選択s (never send styled mail)"
Here's how to do it in Calypso:
Henry パン職人 (hbaker@ipa.逮捕する) 追加するs:
I've been using a 広大な／多数の／重要な email （弁護士の）依頼人 指名するd Calypso ever since it first （機の）カム out. In those days, of course, email programs were 簡単に that and "rich text" was left where it belongs -- on theWeb and inword 加工業者s.But that was before Gates got his grimy fingers into everything.
Anyway, I've been using Calypso v.2x all these years and just never bothered to 昇格 to v3 when it （機の）カム out. Then I decided to the other day and discovered they've discontinued the program. They （人命などを）奪う，主張するd it didn't 会合，会う their 歳入 期待s enough to continue with it. But an email got me the developers' directory where I could download it and it turned out it wasn't $40 any more -- it was 解放する／自由な. What a 取引，協定.
It's a world-class email （弁護士の）依頼人 -- the best on earth, in my opinion. If you're 利益／興味d in taking a look at it, I put all the とじ込み／提出するs in a directory on my website:
http://www.10xshooters.com/calypso-解放する／自由な
Here's how to 無能にする HTML in Calypso v.3x:
- 最高潮の場面 mailbox 指名する in tree;
- In the 最高の，を越す menu click Mailbox;
- Click 所有物／資産／財産s;
- Click 安全 tab;
- Check the box beside "無能にする rich text (HTML) messaging;"
- Click 承認する.
公式文書，認めるs on BareBone's MailSmith for Mac (Classic and OS X):
Jason Davies (ucgajpd at ucl dot ac dot uk) 公式文書，認めるs:
Mailsmith 辞退するs to （判決などを）下す HTML but (nowadays) 申し込む／申し出s a 簡単にするd plain text 見解／翻訳／版. If you want to read the html you have to open the attachment in a browser. Thus it is impossible to get caught in many of the problems. At least this way you can 保護する yourself against the menace, if not receiving it. And you certainly can't send it!
have a look at www.barebones.com for Mailsmith which, for searching, 索引ing, scripting and interface, （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域s the other emailers 手渡すs 負かす／撃墜する. Of course you don't need to adjust the settings...
However, an 匿名の／不明の reader 令状s to 追加する:
This is 現実に MORE dangerous, as you will open a 地元の とじ込み／提出する with the Browser. 地元の often 暗示するs that many 安全 features are 無能にするd as in (your link) "研究員s 明らかにする／漏らす new Explorer, 見通し 安全 欠陥".
MailMan
If you run a MailMan-based mailing 名簿（に載せる）／表（にあげる）, you can 無能にする HTML email 名簿（に載せる）／表（にあげる）-wide.
Go to the "Content filtering" page in the 行政の interface, select "変える text/html parts to plain text" and 企て，努力，提案 HTML messages on your 名簿（に載せる）／表（にあげる） a fond 別れの（言葉，会）. 現実に, sending them off to oblivion with a scornful parting 発射 is more like it.
Have a comment on the practice of using HTML (rich text / formatted) email? A discussion topic for this page is 利用できる here.
Because my feelings about the problems with HTML email have for the most part changed, this page is no longer 活発に 持続するd.