HTML List Abuse (was: "please ignore: this is only a test")

Al Billings albill at openbuddha.com
Fri Oct 18 20:20:43 PDT 2013


Who cares? That's a lot of words about a non-issue.

—
http://makehacklearn.org

On Fri, Oct 18, 2013 at 8:16 PM, brian carroll <electromagnetize at gmail.com>
wrote:

>  i somewhat understand the situation thanks to feedback...
>  the problems here involve a broken pc and porting texts
>  from one platform into Gmail, where formatting errors and
>  line wrap issues exist, thus unreliable rendering of emails.
>  since the list does not send me a copy of my own posts,
>  the archives in plain text are what i see as to the filetype,
>  not realizing it may be rendered as HTML email elsewhere,
>  because data only appears in plain text anywhere i see it
>  this whole time i never figured it was about my posts due
>  to this, unless somehow MINE attachments were what
>  was referenced - yet only HTML was repeatedly scolded.
>  in approximately two months, looking at emails, i have
>  only seen a few examples of HTML email that i recognize,
>  mainly because of formatted or colored text, and did not
>  connect this with the *scrubbing* of the HTML content,
>  associated with the way the email is being processed
>  by the list management software -- which i thought is
>  neutralizing the HTML formatting before it goes out
>  thus, if there is a setting to receive plain text, why not
>  subscribe to that option, for that situation, i do not yet
>  comprehend what is going on as these posts render
>  in mailboxes elsewhere, if they are indeed HTML or it
>  just involves a footer with links to the scrubbed html
>  and associated attachments, aka multipart MIME (?)
>  i tested plain text resend (locally) of the last file and
>  it renders Unicode ok, so will try that approach though
>  mystery formatting issues persist with Gmail (and, as
>  an indication of deterioration of usability, they recently
>  removed 'translate' from Google search, so downgrading
>  functionality in email also seems likely, with formatting
>  and limited reply or other control over email content)...
>  that said, i do not know (for lack of getting a copy of
>  emails myself) if graphics are sent out as attachments
>  or scrubbed and archived on the list (which i assumed,
>  given the footer attachment data). the reason for not
>  direct linking everything is to keep a copy in archive,
>  in case i delete drop-box, so the essays have basic
>  content for a few ideas requiring of some diagrams.
>  if that multipart MIME attachment is the issue, is
>  it not possible to somehow 'not view attachments'
>  if they are sent out, or filter such messages, versus
>  stop visual messaging of relevance to list content,
>  because someone somewhere does not want that,
>  and it is a potential security threat if 'weaponized',
>  in that it is a way of attacking through delivery, etc
>  what is a forum without ideas, how much security
>  to protect what, security talk about security tech
>  yet no conceptualization beyond those boundaries,
>  like what is crypto, what are the concepts, where
>  are various peoples understandings and interests,
>  and might some visual information help assist the
>  conceptual issues, or is it text-only, no imagery.
>  because then it is just not worth it, trying to share
>  new views and ideas about issues of crypto today
>  not everything fits into text or a 77 character line width.
>  these tools suck for communicating and sharing ideas.
>  it is self-punishing even to try to share ideas online.
>  everything goes against viewpoints that are not already
>  agreed upon as part of the existing perspective. it takes
>  and requires a significant effort to build up an alternative
>  model and this requires some additional visual data to
>  make points or frameworks otherwise not possible in
>  text alone, and things are beyond Lynx interfaces as
>  an email exchange scenario, to limit exchange to those
>  parameters is perhaps too limiting even, unless what is
>  said here is supposed to be secure in some way that
>  i do not comprehend, like this data is under attack
>  maybe i just do not get it, what the issues are.
>  are online forums not to communicate ideas and
>  while mobile and other platforms exist, there are
>  many examples in code of how data is ported to
>  those interfaces, not determined by it, because it
>  is a different set of requirements, ex: m.mobile.tld
>  1) will try to send plain text, if formatting is retained,
>   this will include a few attachments for the list archive
>  2) MIME-footer scenario will continue. unknown if these
>  images go out to everyone- my assumption is that they
>  went directly to the list archive: scrubbed with HTML...
>  2a) if attachments go out to list members, is there is a
>  way to choose not to receive them, via list software,
>  2b) if images go straight to archive is there any issue
>  3) is there disagreement on attachments. no images
>  and i am gone, cannot communicate the ideas. i can
>  Dropbox them-- never meant to impose the imagery
>  on every mailbox, especially if a security threat. yet
>  it seems more secure to email than Dropbox them,
>  potentially, if somehow the file was remote altered
>  while stored static. assumed a central list archive
>  was holding imagery via the scrubbing process.
>  4) what would resolve the issues... i do not see how to
>  avoid multipart MIME footers with image attachments,
>  yet perhaps however many list member should have
>  to goto an URL to retrieve attached image content than
>  have it arrive with the email. i am a believer in the text
>  + image approach for emails, i think it is too low a limit
>  on communication to take out visuals in basic exchange
>  because much more can be communicated w/ diagrams.
>  unfortunately everything is against this, even in-line images
>  are no longer an option in email and webmail software...
>  thus forcing text-only, sign-based, linearity like this
>  feedback?
>  p.s. used to ASCII diagram extensively yet no longer
>  have tools able to control monospace fonts this way.
>  any pointers to online resources for creating technical
>  diagrams using ascii for email communications and the
>  settings needed greatly appreciated. saw this online
>  documentation the other day and its formatting is ideal,
>  http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-hallambaker-prismproof-trust-00
>  why is it so impossible to get that kind of control over text,
>  and how do technical diagrams get rendered in ASCII (no
>  examples here, rare to encounter them) and where to
>  learn how to do this. not online ASCII-image translators
>  and instead, are there tools and settings for text editors
>  or does Gmail limit this from happening. tried Outlook
>  yet it is insane and unusable. cannot find the new mail
>  button even. fake whois. sick software experimentation.
> Eugen Leitl wrote:
>>
>> On Thu, Oct 17, 2013 at 08:43:01PM -0500, brian carroll wrote:
>> > hello. as far as i know, this is not HTML, it is a unicode message.
>>
>> It was a multipart message:
>>
>>   I     1 <no description>                                                                                                           [multipa/alternativ, 7bit, 3.9K]
>>   I     2 ├─><no description>                                                                                                         [text/plain, 7bit, utf-8, 1.2K]
>>   I     3 └─><no description>                                                                                                        [text/html, quoted, utf-8, 2.5K]
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