Jargons of Info Tech industry

[Steven D'Aprano]

On Sat, 08 Oct 2005 20:43:12 +0000, Roedy Green wrote:

>>I liken it more to hating all viruses because some of them 
>>install keyloggers.
> 
>  I take it then you avoid browsers or use Lynx?  No you FIX the
> problems rather than wear a hair shirt. 

No, I avoid browsers that are broken, e.g. those that have ActiveX. If
people send a link to a website that includes ActiveX, then no matter how
great the advantages, the disadvantages are more.

Likewise I avoid emails that are broken. If it looks like it will contain
web-bugs, javascript exploits, or badly formatted unreadable text, then I
avoid any mail client that can't display it in plain text.

And by "looks like", I mean "contains any HTML".

> Same for email. Why should
> rich expressions only be permitted to those with websites.  

Because the disadvantages of HTML email are greater than the advantages.
If people mail me HTML mail, I make a snap judgement -- trash it or read
it? It is usually trash it. There are only so many emails with purple text
on indigo backgrounds that a man can read before deciding that the
tasteless, clueless masses should never been given the ability to format
text.

> Some people use email PRIMARILY for sharing photos.

Which you can do by attaching the photo to the email. Even mutt or pine
can attach binary files to an email.


-- 
Steven.