1. all links are click-able at this point; what's more plain-text would force to provide just a link without all the tracking garbage
2. you can have paragraphs and headings... it's just a matter of structure - using html you can write a wall of text just fine
3. not sure if needed, besides you can attach images to plain text (though not inlining) or click-able links to external sources (at exact place)
4. still - easily do-able; it's a matter of particular editor tracking lists - for markdown editors it works just fine and in the end you virtually have a "plain text bullet list"... magic.
The most contagious/problematic issue is (3) and inlining - as I said, it's possible to attach anything but the location is lost. Probably something simple like anchor (again, markdown linking comes to mind) to indicate placement would be just fine...
> 1. all links are click-able at this point; what's more plain-text would force to provide just a link without all the tracking garbage 2. you can have paragraphs and headings... it's just a matter of structure - using html you can write a wall of text just fine 3. not sure if needed, besides you can attach images to plain text (though not inlining) or click-able links to external sources (at exact place) 4. still - easily do-able; it's a matter of particular editor tracking lists - for markdown editors it works just fine and in the end you virtually have a "plain text bullet list"... magic.
I think this comment displays the problems with plain text. I really couldn't have provided a better example.
As regards the counterpoints:
1. All links are clickable
Yes, and that's a bug. "http://www.example.com" should not be a clickable line. More to the point, it's not plain text anymore if the user gets something that has been interpreted and then rendered by the software.
2. It's not obvious how this should be done, and how it should reflow. You yourself failed to manage this in your reply, which I consider a good argument for why plain text is a poor UI.
3. Who cares whether you need it or not. The reality is that the clear majority of people use it!
4. Once again, if we're talking about a specific format that gets rendered into something readable, then it's not plain text anymore.
I'm arguing against the GPs assertion that plain text is the best format, not that markdown is insufficient.
> More to the point, it's not plain text anymore if the user gets something that has been interpreted and then rendered by the software.
Arguably it is. It was sent as plain text and received as plain text. The fact that the recipient's software goes through and interprets that plain text and does something when it detects an URL in it doesn't change that. If the recipient were to use some other software that doesn't do that, they'd see... Plain text. Because that's what it is.
> Arguably it is. It was sent as plain text and received as plain text. The fact that the recipient's software goes through and interprets that plain text and does something when it detects an URL in it doesn't change that. If the recipient were to use some other software that doesn't do that, they'd see... Plain text. Because that's what it is.
Exactly like .... the subset of HTML we see in emails?
I have not yet gotten an HTML email that, when displayed in plain-text, was unreadable. Neither, I suspect, have you.
> what's more plain-text would force to provide just a link without all the tracking garbage
I'm glad that you never ever received any link to some derivation of st.es.rui.tracking/bzzz/pfrrrrt?campaign=hn that hide the real link, but in the real world, that's how tracking is done. Plain text doesn't prevent anything.
> not sure if needed, besides you can attach images to plain text (though not inlining) or click-able links to external sources (at exact place)
For a Linux user, you can already build such a system yourself quite trivially by getting an FTP account, mounting it locally with curlftpfs, and then using SVN or CVS on the mounted filesystem. From Windows or Mac, this FTP account could be accessed through built-in software.
You want to argue that plain text is better, but your arguments are that plain tex, are better for you. Don't make the mistake to assume that your specific experience is a workable average.
Please don't conflate adopting stupid solution to a problem that goes overboard (HTML) with equally stupid being stuck in shell and building stuff and using CLI...
PS. I assume all your github readme.md are all in full-blown HTML sprinkled with tracking links? :P
> I'm glad that you never ever received any link to some derivation of st.es.rui.tracking/bzzz/pfrrrrt?campaign=hn that hide the real link, but in the real world, that's how tracking is done. Plain text doesn't prevent anything.
That's the thing - I do get lots of them. In the age of html+plain and abuse of tracking (because it's so easy to hide with html), plain text version is just littered with this nonsense...
For example I just got notification from allegro.pl (shopping platform) and all links have that:
As for attachments - obvious exaggeration to dismiss actual issue: bravo…
> You want to argue that plain text is better, but your arguments are that plain tex, are better for you. Don't make the mistake to assume that your specific experience is a workable average.
Don't assume that someone using HTML actually do it conciously or is glad to receive it in that form because average user doesn't complain about it
So you're agreeing that plain text doesn't prevent tracking ? And that advocating for it won't solve the problem ?
> As for attachments - obvious exaggeration to dismiss actual issue: bravo…
No, the issue is that you can't tell everyone to "just upload the picture somewhere and put the link in the middle", that's unreasonable. That is the issue. HTML solves an issue.
> Don't assume that someone using HTML actually do it conciously or is glad to receive it in that form because average user doesn't complain about it
Average users want formatting. Plain text doesn't provide it. HTML for emails sucks, but plain text isn't a solution to that.
The most contagious/problematic issue is (3) and inlining - as I said, it's possible to attach anything but the location is lost. Probably something simple like anchor (again, markdown linking comes to mind) to indicate placement would be just fine...
(I loath html mails with passion…)