[thelist] HTML in email

[John Eckman]

At 01:29 PM 6/21/01, "Warden, Matt" <mwarden at odyssey-design.com> wrote:

> > From: <martin.p.burns at uk.pwcglobal.com>
> > Subject: Re: [thelist] HTML in email
>
>...
> > <img src="http://domain.com/tracking/pix.gif?trackingid
> > height="1" width="1" alt="">
> >
> > If the tracking ID appears in the server logs, they're able
> > to see HTML.
>
>Getting a little more scary, you could directly update the database:
>
><img src="http://domain.com/tracking/turnOnHTML.asp?userid=foo height="1"
>width="1" alt="">

The problem with this approach is that it assumes my email is read in one 
place only. I may be reading my email in PINE, I may be reading it in 
Outlook 2000, I may be in Eudora, or, I may be reading it in my blackberry 
pager. I use all four of these mail reading mechanisms on a regular basis - 
for the same email address. (I'm writing this message in Eudora, but the 
replies to it I am likely to get later on on my blackberry while I'm in a 
meeting. later, at home, I may hit the server through telnet and run pine.)

I hate it when people assume - let the users choose their format. If you 
haven't given them the opportunity to choose, why are you sending them email?


John Eckman                     "It'd be a hell of a lot cheaper
www.liquidsquid.com             to just suck on a penny"