Yes, I agree that almost all email can and should be plain text. And yes, I agree that most people who use colors and fonts and formatting should be prevented from doing so, because so many of them do it in a way that detracts from clarity.
However, some of us deal with real people as opposed to those who are interesting in and competent at technology. I often deal with people who can't fill in web forms because they can't click in a box to give it focus. I deal with people who can't email me if I use an anti-spammed email address such as my_name(at)domain(dot)com. I deal with people who can't find the underscore ("_") and don't know the difference between square and round brackets. I deal with people who sometimes put a space after a period, and sometimes don't.
I deal with normal people for whom computers are a mysterious tool that does inexplicable things unless they stick to the very few things they've been shown.
Trust me - they don't know how to tell their email client not to use HTML.
And "normal" people want colors, and fonts, and formatting, and bullets. They won't use plain text, even if they could.
ADDED IN EDIT: I've noticed that this comment has had a down-vote, but no reply. That's a shame. I'd really like to hear a considered and well-argued counter. Please, if was you who down-voted this, or if you simply disagree with it, let us know your thoughts. Thanks.
Yes, I agree that almost all email can and should be plain text. And yes, I agree that most people who use colors and fonts and formatting should be prevented from doing so, because so many of them do it in a way that detracts from clarity.
However, some of us deal with real people as opposed to those who are interesting in and competent at technology. I often deal with people who can't fill in web forms because they can't click in a box to give it focus. I deal with people who can't email me if I use an anti-spammed email address such as my_name(at)domain(dot)com. I deal with people who can't find the underscore ("_") and don't know the difference between square and round brackets. I deal with people who sometimes put a space after a period, and sometimes don't.
I deal with normal people for whom computers are a mysterious tool that does inexplicable things unless they stick to the very few things they've been shown.
Trust me - they don't know how to tell their email client not to use HTML.
And "normal" people want colors, and fonts, and formatting, and bullets. They won't use plain text, even if they could.
ADDED IN EDIT: I've noticed that this comment has had a down-vote, but no reply. That's a shame. I'd really like to hear a considered and well-argued counter. Please, if was you who down-voted this, or if you simply disagree with it, let us know your thoughts. Thanks.