[opensuse] quick question re word wrap protocol
Does the community here have a "rule" regarding message word wrap? I know that in the old days the protocol was 78 or 80 columns, but AFAIK most (all?) message/mail readers now support automatic wrap, which I personally vastly prefer. Looking at other's messages here though, it appears that both fixed column and wrap is being used. After being spanked for imprecise snips, I don't want to risk the wrath of the mailing list gods, so can someone clarify, please. :) Thanks. --dg -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org
On 12/12/2011 09:29 AM, Dennis Gallien wrote:
Does the community here have a "rule" regarding message word wrap? I know that in the old days the protocol was 78 or 80 columns, but AFAIK most (all?) message/mail readers now support automatic wrap, which I personally vastly prefer. Looking at other's messages here though, it appears that both fixed column and wrap is being used. After being spanked for imprecise snips, I don't want to risk the wrath of the mailing list gods, so can someone clarify, please. :)
Thanks.
--dg
Well, Considering I can't even read your message in tbird without scrolling, I would say -- "yes, please configure your mailer to wrap at 78." See: http://www.3111skyline.com/dl/img/misc/dg_wrapQ.jpg (a screenshot of your message in thunderbird) -- David C. Rankin, J.D.,P.E. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org
David C. Rankin wrote:
On 12/12/2011 09:29 AM, Dennis Gallien wrote:
Does the community here have a "rule" regarding message word wrap? I know that in the old days the protocol was 78 or 80 columns, but AFAIK most (all?) message/mail readers now support automatic wrap, which I personally vastly prefer. Looking at other's messages here though, it appears that both fixed column and wrap is being used. After being spanked for imprecise snips, I don't want to risk the wrath of the mailing list gods, so can someone clarify, please. :)
Thanks.
--dg
Well,
Considering I can't even read your message in tbird without scrolling, I would say -- "yes, please configure your mailer to wrap at 78."
Wait, that's when you're replying. I get that too quite frequently, but I think I am able to read the message without scrolling first though. -- Per Jessen, Zürich (5.4°C) -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org
* David C. Rankin <drankinatty@suddenlinkmail.com> [12-12-11 11:03]:
On 12/12/2011 09:29 AM, Dennis Gallien wrote:
Does the community here have a "rule" regarding message word wrap?
Considering I can't even read your message in tbird without scrolling, I would say -- "yes, please configure your mailer to wrap at 78."
See: http://www.3111skyline.com/dl/img/misc/dg_wrapQ.jpg
(a screenshot of your message in thunderbird)
but the screenshot is of your *reply* :^) I agree. My email client and editor are both capable of (email-intelligent) wordwrap at a configurable length but the wrapping is a poor substitute from seeing *properly* formatted text. It goes back to email being a *text* function not requiring a gui. tks, -- (paka)Patrick Shanahan Plainfield, Indiana, USA HOG # US1244711 http://wahoo.no-ip.org Photo Album: http://wahoo.no-ip.org/gallery2 http://en.opensuse.org openSUSE Community Member Registered Linux User #207535 @ http://linuxcounter.net -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org
Patrick Shanahan said the following on 12/12/2011 12:01 PM:
It goes back to email being a *text* function not requiring a gui.
Indeed. "We don' need no steekin' HTML mail..." /"\ \ / ASCII RIBBON CAMPAIGN X AGAINST HTML EMAIL / \ AND POSTINGS Or any other MIME type for that matter. Plain text, thank you. -- "It's good to have money and the things money can buy, but it's good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven't lost the things money can't buy." -- George Horace Lormier -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org
On Monday, December 12, 2011 12:01 PM Patrick Shanahan wrote:
* David C. Rankin <drankinatty@suddenlinkmail.com> [12-12-11 11:03]:
On 12/12/2011 09:29 AM, Dennis Gallien wrote:
Does the community here have a "rule" regarding message word wrap?
Considering I can't even read your message in tbird without
scrolling, I would say -- "yes, please configure your mailer to wrap at 78."
See: http://www.3111skyline.com/dl/img/misc/dg_wrapQ.jpg
(a screenshot of your message in thunderbird)
but the screenshot is of your *reply* :^)
I agree. My email client and editor are both capable of (email-intelligent) wordwrap at a configurable length but the wrapping is a poor substitute from seeing *properly* formatted text.
It goes back to email being a *text* function not requiring a gui.
tks,
I know it goes back to the pre-gui days; I was there, too. With my horse & buggy. :) Now, don't get me wrong, I love horses and will happily accomodate what the gods here require (if I may mix my metaphors). The reason I ask, is that when I shifted to fixed 78 column, I started getting replies (outside the lists) coming back formatted like this:
This will help her get maximum benefit as soon as possible, and with a lot less effort because I've included most of what she will need/want to learn to get started.
And that is a real PITA. Suggestion? (I use KMail, and AFAIK the wrap configuration is applied to all messages, whatever it is.) And btw, I don't know what you mean that "wrapping is a poor substitute from seeing *properly" formatted text." Is that "from" a "for"? And what is the "properly formatted" you are referring to? Thanks. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org
* Dennis Gallien <dwgallien@gmail.com> [12-12-11 13:46]:
I agree. My email client and editor are both capable of (email-intelligent) wordwrap at a configurable length but the wrapping is a poor substitute from seeing *properly* formatted text.
It goes back to email being a *text* function not requiring a gui.
I know it goes back to the pre-gui days; I was there, too. With my horse & buggy. :) Now, don't get me wrong, I love horses and will happily accomodate what the gods here require (if I may mix my metaphors).
The reason I ask, is that when I shifted to fixed 78 column, I started getting replies (outside the lists) coming back formatted like this:
This will help her get maximum benefit as soon as possible, and with a lot less effort because I've included most of what she will need/want to learn to get started.
And that is a real PITA. Suggestion? (I use KMail, and AFAIK the wrap configuration is applied to all messages, whatever it is.)
your client is reformatting the text to your chosen line length which now includes the "quote indicator characters", "> " and "> > ".
And btw, I don't know what you mean that "wrapping is a poor substitute from seeing *properly" formatted text." Is that "from" a "for"? And what is the "properly formatted" you are referring to?
referring to what you displayed above as a "real PITA" and I have reformatted it below in my editor, joe. I used jed which has a mutt_mode or mail_mode and automagically reformatted quoted text and was really nice but switched to joe for some reason I cannot remember. Advancing age does that to one :^). I may switch back just refresh my faulty memory.
This will help her get maximum benefit as soon as possible, and with a lot less effort because I've included most of what she will need/want to learn to get started.
Most of the format differences, colored text, pretty pictures, html, and top/bottom/in-the-middle posting mess may be attributed to $ms and aol which brought the mostly inconsiderate and impolite masses to the internet and email. In the *day* you didn't want to be known as an "aoler" :^) -- (paka)Patrick Shanahan Plainfield, Indiana, USA HOG # US1244711 http://wahoo.no-ip.org Photo Album: http://wahoo.no-ip.org/gallery2 http://en.opensuse.org openSUSE Community Member Registered Linux User #207535 @ http://linuxcounter.net -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org
On Monday, December 12, 2011 02:06 PM Patrick Shanahan wrote:
* Dennis Gallien <dwgallien@gmail.com> [12-12-11 13:46]:
I agree. My email client and editor are both capable of (email-intelligent) wordwrap at a configurable length but the wrapping is a poor substitute from seeing *properly* formatted text.
It goes back to email being a *text* function not requiring a gui.
I know it goes back to the pre-gui days; I was there, too. With my horse & buggy. :) Now, don't get me wrong, I love horses and will happily accomodate what the gods here require (if I may mix my metaphors).
The reason I ask, is that when I shifted to fixed 78 column, I started
getting replies (outside the lists) coming back formatted like this:
This will help her get maximum benefit as soon as possible, and with a lot less effort because I've included most of what she will need/want to learn to get started.
And that is a real PITA. Suggestion? (I use KMail, and AFAIK the wrap configuration is applied to all messages, whatever it is.)
your client is reformatting the text to your chosen line length which now includes the "quote indicator characters", "> " and "> > ".
Nope, my client didn't reformat that text - her's did. Depending upon the nbr of ">" on the line, Kmail will move a word to the next line and so as necessary to maintain the configured line length. It will not chop the message as above. I tried a bunch of tests and I finally managed to force what she did by creating a reply which inserted the ">" and moved the text accordingly as it should, and then I shortened the length setting while the editor still had the reply open, thus forcing the lines shorter. So her client is doing something strange. But I've encountered this with other replies, too. It's not consistent. That was the PITA I was referring to.
And btw, I don't know what you mean that "wrapping is a poor substitute from seeing *properly" formatted text." Is that "from" a "for"? And what is the "properly formatted" you are referring to?
referring to what you displayed above as a "real PITA" and I have reformatted it below in my editor, joe. I used jed which has a mutt_mode or mail_mode and automagically reformatted quoted text and was really nice but switched to joe for some reason I cannot remember. Advancing age does that to one :^). I may switch back just refresh my faulty memory.
Your reformatting is just like my client does, too. Here is mine, wrapping properly lke yours:
user. This will help her get maximum benefit as soon as possible, and with a lot less effort because I've included most of what she will need/want to learn to get started.
This will help her get maximum benefit as soon as possible, and with a lot less effort because I've included most of what she will need/want to learn to get started.
Most of the format differences, colored text, pretty pictures, html, and top/bottom/in-the-middle posting mess may be attributed to $ms and aol which brought the mostly inconsiderate and impolite masses to the internet and email. In the *day* you didn't want to be known as an "aoler" :^)
I know. I started with email before there was an public internet. Originally all the hardware vendors with networking had their own proprietary email software; ours (HP) worked in block-mode, too! Like DEC, all of our machines could talk to one another. Of course, IBM was another story - IIRC 7 different architectures at the time, most of them unable to talk to another. OK folks, I'll just keep it at plain text 78. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org
* Dennis Gallien <dwgallien@gmail.com> [12-12-11 17:14]:
OK folks, I'll just keep it at plain text 78.
tks, :^) -- (paka)Patrick Shanahan Plainfield, Indiana, USA HOG # US1244711 http://wahoo.no-ip.org Photo Album: http://wahoo.no-ip.org/gallery2 http://en.opensuse.org openSUSE Community Member Registered Linux User #207535 @ http://linuxcounter.net -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org
On 12/12/2011 8:00 AM, David C. Rankin wrote:
On 12/12/2011 09:29 AM, Dennis Gallien wrote:
Does the community here have a "rule" regarding message word wrap? I know that in the old days the protocol was 78 or 80 columns, but AFAIK most (all?) message/mail readers now support automatic wrap, which I personally vastly prefer. Looking at other's messages here though, it appears that both fixed column and wrap is being used. After being spanked for imprecise snips, I don't want to risk the wrath of the mailing list gods, so can someone clarify, please. :)
Thanks.
--dg
Well,
Considering I can't even read your message in tbird without scrolling, I would say -- "yes, please configure your mailer to wrap at 78."
See: http://www.3111skyline.com/dl/img/misc/dg_wrapQ.jpg
(a screenshot of your message in thunderbird)
Blue on black David? Readability problems might not be attributable solely to word wrap issues. Just sayin..... -- _____________________________________ ---This space for rent--- -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org
On 12/12/2011 10:29 AM, Dennis Gallien pecked at the keyboard and wrote:
Does the community here have a "rule" regarding message word wrap? I know that in the old days the protocol was 78 or 80 columns, but AFAIK most (all?) message/mail readers now support automatic wrap, which I personally vastly prefer. Looking at other's messages here though, it appears that both fixed column and wrap is being used. After being spanked for imprecise snips, I don't want to risk the wrath of the mailing list gods, so can someone clarify, please. :)
Thanks.
--dg
I'm sure about k-mail, but Thunderbird no longer has a setting for composition line length. There are a couple for display wrap. I find some messages are being displayed to the width of my window and some are displayed shorter. -- Ken Schneider SuSe since Version 5.2, June 1998 -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org
participants (7)
-
Anton Aylward -
David C. Rankin -
Dennis Gallien -
John Andersen -
Ken Schneider - openSUSE -
Patrick Shanahan -
Per Jessen