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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 7/18/2012 3:15 PM, Axel wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote cite="mid:50073579.7050304@gmail.com" type="cite">
<blockquote class=" cite" id="mid_5006F2B2_7020309_caspia_com"
cite="mid:5006F2B2.7020309@caspia.com" type="cite">
<blockquote class=" cite" id="mid_5005E0AF_1020004_gmail_com"
cite="mid:5005E0AF.1020004@gmail.com" type="cite"> If you were
going for major compatibility you (e.g. outlook fidelity) you
would have to back pedal so far... I personally for HTML email
CSS is the future (as it is for HTML5). <br>
<br>
<b>If Thunderbird can lead by example, then this is the one
area where I would like it to be brave: <u><br>
</u></b>
<ul>
<li><b><u>be CSS3 compliant</u>; </b></li>
<li><b><u>encourage use of CSS</u></b>; <br>
</li>
</ul>
<p>it is not that hard. Just use a proper browser engine,
there are plenty choices out there. Of course, composing is
an entirely different kettle of fish (that's the hard bit).
:)</p>
</blockquote>
This is an issue where lack of clarity of our core product
positioning makes it hard to choose.<br>
<br>
I doubt if many of our users would want us to be "lead by
example" and sacrifice "major compatibility (with) ... outlook"
in the process.<br>
</blockquote>
I don't think that this "sacrifice compatibility" is something we
need to actively <i>drive.<br>
</i></blockquote>
Glad to hear that!<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:50073579.7050304@gmail.com" type="cite"><i> </i>On
7/17/2012 3:01 PM, Axel wrote:<br>
<br>
... so here is the deal and my thought process behind this - if
we add simplified editing support for CSS3 features like
gradients, border-radius and box-shadow, this won't "break
compatibility" with word, but you get <b>better usability and
high fidelity </b>within <b>Thunderbird corporate environments
and with private Thunderbird users</b>; for the web based email
clients it wouldn't be hard to gradually add support for these
features (they would just have to be a bit more cautious "ripping
out" "undesired" layout) [- also, have a look at what they make of
emails authored with Outlook.]<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:50073579.7050304@gmail.com" type="cite"> <br>
At the same time, Word as text editor integrated within Outlook
is doubtless "A Neat Thing" which enables outlook users to very
simply generate highly complex layouts that can be truthfully
transmitted within the boundaries of the platform (basically,
Exchange networks). <br>
<br>
I would really like a similar level of "ease of use" when
creating emails that are sent between Thunderbird users, and
whether we think this is a good or bad thing, we should agree that
HTML is the platform, and CSS is the way to do the layout - why
stick to deprecated standards?<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
I think that we would all agree, when we are wearing our Mozillians
teeshirt, that it is Mozevil to use your platform dominance to force
non-standard email layout schemes on the world (as MS did), and
Mozawesome to instead use web standards to improve the editing and
layout possibilities for emails.<br>
<br>
When I put on my business school teeshirt (full disclosure: this
belongs to my daughter, not me) I have to to ask which of our market
segments would be hurt by doing this, and which would be helped. I
suppose that we may have a market segment which is "Enterprise
Thunderbird users in a pure Thunderbird environment" who would
benefit from improved TB-to-TB messaging, but I would guess that it
is small. I suspect that the majority of our users would be
classified as people who are not particularly sophisticated in HTML
and CSS issues, and who send email to a heterogeneous audience. For
them, "Thunderbird is broken" if the emails that they add cool
layout to end up looking bad in Outlook or Gmail. Is that going to
be a problem, and if so how would you address it?<br>
<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:50073579.7050304@gmail.com" type="cite"> My
point is, let's harness that power and show people what is
possible (while sticking to the HTML standards); the trick is to
build a good user interface to make that power easy to use; I
think this will take some vision and some braveness, but I do not
think for a minute that it will alienate any Outlooks users (I am
one myself, in my bread job, so I know what I am talking about);
but rather attract them. If you're stuck with outlook in you job,
then "Hey look what you can do with that, in your private email!"<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
It would be awesome to try some of these ideas in an addon, or a
Mozilla labs-type project, to see what the possibilities are.<br>
<br>
rkent<br>
<br>
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