illegibilia in digest (re: Pretzel/Bretzel (1843))

[Joel S. Berson]

Mark is not the only one who can't read "these things".  I've seen
them in messages I receive directly (that is, not via the digest),
and a number of persons on another list I subscribe to have the same
complaint about its digest.

Mark, do you see both the illegibilia and the plain text for such
messages in the digest?  If so, I think the problem rests both with
the subscriber and the list server, and can be prevented by the list
server.  If subscribers sent only plain text, such things would not
appear.  If the list server refused to accept styled text (which can
be done), such things would be rejected and the subscribers forced to
send plain text.

Gmail, on the other hand, perhaps uses an encoding even for plain
text that more modern email readers don't accept.

Joel

At 1/20/2006 10:02 AM, you wrote:
>---------------------- Information from the mail header
>-----------------------
>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       "Mark A. Mandel" <mamandel at LDC.UPENN.EDU>
>Subject:      illegibilia in digest (re: Pretzel/Bretzel (1843))
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>This was at the top of today's digest (ADS-L Digest - 18 Jan 2006 to 19 Jan
>2006 (#2006-20)):
>
> >>>
>
>Date:    Thu, 19 Jan 2006 00:41:36 EST
>From:    Bapopik at AOL.COM
>Subject: Pretzel/Bretzel (1843)
>
>SG93IGlzIHRoZSBPRUQgcmV2aXNpb24gb24gInByZXR6ZWwiPz8gU2VlIGFsc28gdGhlIEFE
>Uy1MIGFyY2hpdmVzLgouLi4KLi4uCihPRUQpCnByZXR6ZWwsIGJyZXR6ZWwKMS4gQSBjcmlz
>cCBiaXNjdWl0IGJha2VkIGluIHRoZSBmb3JtIG9mIGEga25vdCBhbmQgIGZsYXZvdXJlZCB3
>
><<<
>
>I seem to have acquired a reputation for antediluvianity in using an ancient
>mailreader (pine) that is allegedly unable to decode these things. Is that
>really true, or is it the listserver's fault when compiling the digest, and
>am I just the only subscriber to read this list in digest form?
>
>-- Mark A. Mandel
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org