Gilles Tran wrote:
> 
> Ron Parker wrote:
> 
> > >  Or those who, for one reason or other, don't like to use a html browser to
> > >read the news (like me).
> 
> My 2 cents :
> To be frank, this limitation would be logical it if this were, say, a newsgroup
> about rural farming in tropical countries where the users are likely to have
> limited computer  resources. But this NG is dedicated to computer graphics, and
> used by people who have up-to-date configurations, if only to run CG software and
> Internet connections able to download binaries. I've also noticed that the people
> who seem to have trouble with HTML postings are also rather advanced computer
> users, which doesn't make sense... When I have trouble reading a file because of
> a new popular format, I search for the latest version or patch that supports it
> and always find it. This what I did when I started receiving HTML-coded e-mails.
> Is that really impossible for HTML post reading, even without using Netscape ? Or
> is there something sentimental about using non-HTML supporting newsreaders ?
> What annoys me is not actually the ban on HTML posting itself (which I don't find
> very useful, though it could come handy sometimes), but the fact that new users
> here get flamed for this the first time they post, when sometimes they don't even
> know they're doing HTML posts because it's the default mode in popular
> newsreaders or email programs. This is not a "courteous" way to welcome people,
> IMHO.
> For the record, the policy n the French pov group is to allow HTML posting and we
> haven't had any complaints so far, except the occasional joke on the occasional
> ugly background or HTML mess, which is still better than flaming newbies for
> something they're not guilty of, and starting threads about it.
> 
> G.

  You know Gilles I agree with you almost completely. A very vocal minority
have have asserted that html posts are an -inconvenience- for them and that
in order to read posts that are in html format they have to use a separate
program that will read them. This implies they have the resources at their
disposal to handle html posts but stick with software that does not support
it out of preference. In this case the minority are controlling the majority.
Personally I use Netscape that can and does handle html posts without problem
- even in the French NG's with their tacky backgrounds :)

  One last point though is that html posts do take up more space on the
server and if more people posted in html is would chew up server resources
at an alarming rate. Unfortunately the server resources are not unlimited
nor are the funds that provide them. I personally will shed a tear or two
the day that this servers resources become so strained that automatic
expirations on messages has to be applied to provide new resource for future
posts. There are some great messages here and some of them I refer back to
often for my own edification as well as the edification of others.

 These facts aside this news server admin. has made it policy on this server
to ban html posts. As one of the people on this server who often greets new
visitors for the first time I try to help enforce this policy. I do however
try to do so as politely as possible when pointing this out to new visitors
and never attempt to "flame" them in the process. I also take the time to
explain why this policy is such as it is in the hopes that they understand
that it is not a flame as much as it is a necessity for all people involved.

  I would like to encourage everyone on this server that if they do take it
upon themselves to "correct" someone for posting in html, rather than in plain
text, that they do so politely and take the time to explain it to the person
why plain text is necessary. Otherwise it does come off as a flame and some
people may take it personally and never come back. That might be as much our
loss as it is theirs for you will never know what their future contributions
to the POV-Ray community might have been nor what they might have received
in return from us.

-- 
Ken Tyler -  1300+ Povray, Graphics, 3D Rendering, and Raytracing Links:
http://home.pacbell.net/tylereng/index.html http://www.povray.org/links/

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