[CentOS] Slightly OT : newsletters, mail formatting and netiquette

Tue Feb 6 11:17:52 UTC 2018
hw <hw at gc-24.de>

Nicolas Kovacs wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> This question is not exactly CentOS-related strictly speaking, but here
> goes. I'm running a few newsletter servers for myself and a handful of
> clients on public CentOS servers with PHPList.
> 
> For the last twenty years or so I've followed the basic rule that mails
> should have no formatting whatsoever, only simple text. And now I wonder
> if that basic rule of netiquette also applies to newsletters.
> 
> I'm a subscriber to a series of tech-related newsletters, and I couldn't
> help but notice that they all seem to be HTML-formatted, even those from
> respectable hardcore geek groups.
> 
> So my somewhat naive question: is HTML formatting acceptable in
> newsletters?

Most so-called "newsletters" nowadays are only a collection of URLs and do not
contain any news or any information at all.  That totally defeats the purpose
of a newsletter and makes them entirely useless.

So no, it´s unacceptable.  HTML mail automatically goes into my spam folder
anyway, and I avoid subscribing to so-called "newsletters".