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Is there a definitive guide to sending HTML e-mail?

The Definitive Guide to HTML e-mail:

  1. Do not send HTML e-mail. It's annoying.
  2. See #1.


HTML in e-mail (discussion)

One of MIME's goals was to enable rich text (this predates HTML). Now that it's widely supported, the lusers with their ancient mail/news programs feel they can criticize those who want to use it.

No, MIME enables the transport of richer content. It gives no guarantee about the readability of it at the far end.

I'd like to use e-mail in DocBook/XML, a well-understood open standard that is rather more capable than HTML. I have tools in place to do this easily, as do several of my co-workers. Now, how would you feel if I e-mailed you with this ? You wouldn't be able to read it - so does that make you some sort of Luddite troll ?

I have no problem with "HTML e-mail", but that's not what's on offer here - we're talking about Microsoft broken-mail

The second, and most important reason to avoid current HTML e-mail, like the virus-infected plague that it is, is that the implementation of Microsoft's bugware is so inept. At present, the only reliable way to avoid much of the serious risks of Microsoft HTML is to avoid HTML entirely. This is a shame (HTML has some valid uses for richer-media in e-mail) but it's currently unavoidable.

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