Mar 04
HTML or plain text in e-mail?
2004 at 06.02 am posted by Veerle Pieters
Back in the old days when I was starting to use e-mail my preferred client was Eudora, later replaced by Claris Emailer. Things started to become annoying when Outlook Express came around on Mac and the people of Claris decided to stop developing Claris Emailer. Around that period of time HTML based emails started to drop in. Before Mac OS X it was even more frustrating to view these HTML e-mails.
Most of the time Outlook Express would crash and lock up the system and forcing a reboot. Now I am using Entourage as my e-mail client because it works better then Mail. It has more features in handling appointments, reminders etc, but that’s beyond the scope of this post.
Why I am posting this? Because those stupid HTML mails are getting on my nerves. Personally I never have sent out 1 HTML e-mail in all those years, I still use plain text because it’s light no hassle with messed up lay-outs and you’re sure everybody reads it properly. You have to see the things that I sometimes receive in my inbox, and don’t get me started about those Porn mails! Here is a “nice” example of a messy HTML e-mail.
As you can see you have to wonder how many styles you can fit into one HTML e-mail? A LOT in this case ;-) And believe me this is not the worse one I could find. In my opinion e-mail was never meant to used with HTML. If you must, you can use rich text instead. I have no desire to get a website in my inbox anyway. Plain text goes fast and saves us time and bandwidth. It’s a bit like pumping a 30MB attachment into an e-mail, luckily most ISP’s have restrictions in that area otherwise people would send 50 or more also. I always recommend FTP for that to my clients anyway.
Newsletters are different because with most of them you can decide if you want them in plain text or HTML. One comfort though, Nigerian Businessmen are still using plain text ;-p
I wonder, is it just me? Did I get stuck somehow in the good old days?
17served
1
It’s not just you :-)
I’ve been using Mozilla Thunderbird at home and Mozilla Mail at work and I’ve configured both of them to send out plain text messages. I found plain text more readable, easier to print and well handled by modern e-mail software: the programs understand quoting symbols, links on multiple lines and even smileys.
As for newsletters, you are right. I usually opt to receive them in HTML, check if they look ok and if they don’t I just change my selection.
2
I always prefer plain text, and always send plain text. I just think it’s good manners.
3
I can’t stand it when I get HTML based emails. So big and not really needed.
4
Interesting topic Veerle ! Great ;-) to hear those opinions guys! You ( and of course the others just convinced me to keep using plain ( or rich ) text . Fun those subjects with more than one reaction ! Spread the word ( in TXT ! )
5
I hate HTML e-mails too. Travis hits the nail on the head here, it is just a case of good manners to use plain text. HTML e-mails can also be the starting point of some nasty things on your PC if you aren’t careful, at least if your e-mail client isn’t secured. And we all know how nasty these things can get.
6
hm, I can’t really agree with this. I think there is a difference in sending a html mail for layout or for websites/pages/commercial stuff. I DO use html mails but only include a css file.
It’s almost as saying: “no, I won’t make any websites because most of them are looking bad or frustrate me”. I think we should set an example and show people how to use html mails. Just my 2 cents ;-)
7
@Jezter: HTML mail for commercial stuff! My inbox is filled with that junk way too often. It has nothing to do with “no, I won’t make any websites because most of them are looking bad or frustrate me” but everything in using the right tools for the right job and in this case it is the browser (the tool for viewing websites). Why are mail and web browser still separated then? Look at Mozilla, Netscape etc…
8
I think HTML mail sucks too. It just gets in the way. I use Apple Mail, and even though the latest version of Mail uses WebCore to render the HTML (meaning most HTML mail actually works and looks as intended), HTML in e-mail annoys me a lot.
9
I totally agree that the right tools should be used for the right job. But I’m afraid that doesn’t happen on the I-net. (files in emails, files through http,...) I think that most people see html mails as spam (what brings us to one of the biggest problems of the internet today) but you cannot forget that html is just another markup language.
So I don’t see any problems with a NICE and simple text-mail (in html). Most of the people can read html mails anyway so why shouldn’t we use it wisely? Sending text (no html) mails won’t change the mails the companys/spammers send (as sad as it may be).
10
@Jezter, yes if it is nice and it has a certain purpose or meaning that you can’t achieve with plain text, then I can understand it somehow why you would prefer HTML. But for daily use and simple communication it isn’t necessary to use HTML, even if you want to highlight something it’s better to use rich text. My main feeling is that it is pretty simple to send someone 1 page of a site in HTML that they see in their e-mail client but to go further they need their browser, so why even bother? Wouldn’t a simple link just be better?
I know that it will not stop the spammers etc, but if enough people use plain text just to communicate we all make the web just that little bit better and save some bandwidth in the meantime. E-mail is the tool for fast communication and when you start using html with a css file etc, the fast factor is pretty lost in my opinion.
11
I like HTML mails because I often use some of the features, such as tables, bullets, headings, etc. (form supports content!). I could show you some of the plan text mails I receive, they are worse than the example you show. Plain not readable.
How would you react if you received business correspondance written with a text editor (saves trees, doesn’t it?).
Plain text saves bandwidth? Sure. But even an HTML mail is peanuts compared to an attached 30 MB file. Closing this blog would also save bandwidth ;-)
12
Ben, the way I see it is, you can use HTML e-mail if it’s nicely used and it adds certain value to your e-mail, or most importantly like you said for business correspondence if you want to make something clear.
E.g. my client sends me some text for a Flash presentation, the voice-over text is bold and the other text that needs to appear on the presentation is plain. For things like that I have no problem, it serves its purpose. Maybe my article was a bit too black and white :-S
And yes, good point about the attachments. People use mail for sending big files much too often. If possible why not put it on a server to download, that’s what I do. It saves time and bandwidth. Besides, e-mail isn’t made for this kind of purpose and it’s slower too.
13
Veerle, sometimes it’s could to paint black and white to get a message over ... but I tend to agree with you that the unconsidered use of HTML should be banned. Just thinking of all those funny :-( smileys and other ‘useful’ animations I received iin the past in my emails ...
14
Veerle, first of all I have to admit that I am very delighted with your site. Clear, consistent structure, great color scheme, strong writing - keep up the good work!
Now I wonder if you wouldn’t like to share some more thoughts about newsletters, but more in terms of design… What makes a great newsletter? Maybe you could provide some examples of good practice?
15
I like receiving HTML mails, but… the person who is sending a HTML mail has to know how to send one (read not make an HTML e-mail in outlook and hit send!!!).
So therefore I think that normal people best can stick to plain text and those who have sending mails as a proffesion (not meaning a spammer) can send their stuff in HTML, in practise the newsletters.
16
@JohanneS, I think what makes a newsletter worthwhile is its content and how it is presented etc. But I might post an article about this in the future.
@Jochem, I agree with you on this.
17
I do agree with all of you its irritating to receive HTML emails when ure mail browser doesnt support it, but i guess its fine if its for mailers/newsletters.
At my last company we used to make it a point to use our email stationery and I remembered everytime I sent a mail from my company id to my personal id it always attached the images…it used to be irritating to see those images attached instead of showing up how they are meant to be. also it would definitely reduce the bandwith usage, a good chunk of it.
good article veerle and yes like’JohanneS’ says some examples of good practice would be a good idea, :-) you might be hating the idea of starting a blog now to have to write so many articles eh.