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

[brian carroll]

 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]