On Wed, 10 Jul 2002 11:09:54 -0400 "Plunkett, Matt" <MPlunkett at MSA.com> wrote: > Am I overlooking some complexity here? > > Why not improve the interface on the web archives instead of asking > everyone to change their mail habits? Because it's considered polite when taking part in an email list to abide by the general rules of the community and the netiquette guidelines that have evolved over time. Also you have to remember, that just like the web, you do not know what kind of client the viewer of your message is using. It could be Outlook, it could be mutt, it could be any number of mail clients inbetween, and not all of them handle long lines the same way. Having a base standard ensures that no-one gets left behind. RFC1855 has some further information: http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc1855.html Matt Haughey has written an excellent article about mailing list netiquette: http://www.digital-web.com/tutorials/tutorial_1999-12.shtml Jeremy Reed also has a good primer: http://www.reedmedia.net/misc/mail/using-mailing-list.html G. "Resident evolt.org netiquette nazi" -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- WORK: http://www.gencon.co.uk PLAY: http://polytechnic.co.uk