[SEL] Snipping and Flaming ( what is HTML )

Mon Dec 19 05:28:26 PST 2005

Bill,
 HTML is a computer language that allows you to insert colors, different
typefaces, clipart and many other items into your E-mail (it's primary
use is to write web content). The problem is that even though it looks
fine and dandy it creates a HUGE file that folks have to download. It
also creates a jumble of extra crap that you have to dig through to find
the actual message. Many folks who have high speed connections love it.
They forget that many folks do not have high speed and have slow
dial-ups and some pay per kilobyte to download their mail.
As an example of what HTML looks like in a mail program set up to read
plain text (as they ALL should be) take a look at the following example
message.
The first is the full HTML message as it appears in plain text, the
second is just the plain text. Now consider a digest that gets 40-50
emails a day in one file and that contains 50% or more HTML mail.

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META content="MSHTML 5.00.2314.1000" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD><BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I work for a company with 20 or so
networked
computers and no connection to the outside world. Our e-mail is
currently
received through standalone dialup PC's which are not connected to the
Network.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>What we now wish to do is have continuous
access
to an e-mail server on the Internet for all our LAN PCs. We do not
intend to allow
any Internet browsing or any other Internet Services
whatsoever.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>We are using Windows NT as the operating
system
for our LAN network and may in the future upgrade to win
2000.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>My Question is: If only EMAIL will be used
is a
Firewall really necessary. i.e. does the operating system itself ( be it
NT or
the newer 2000) allow for blocking all services BUT e-mail? If yes,
having
people use all Internet services via e-mail, will it present a security
risk?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>It is not really the additional expense of
the
firewall that I am concerned about, rather it is the additional
complexity and
knowledge involved with a firewall that concerns me.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I will be grateful for your
reply</FONT></DIV
><DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Regards,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Cxxxxx Txxx</FONT></DIV>
</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>

I work for a company with 20 or so networked computers and no connection
to the outside world. Our e-mail is currently received through
standalone dialup PC's which are not connected to the Network. What we
now wish to do is have continuous access to an e-mail server on the
Internet for all our LAN PCs. We do not intend to allow any Internet
browsing or any other Internet Services whatsoever. We are using Windows
NT as the operating system
for our LAN network and may in the future upgrade to win 2000. My
Question is: If only EMAIL will be used is a Firewall really necessary.
i.e. does the operating system itself ( be it NT or the newer 2000)
allow for blocking all services BUT e-mail? If yes, having people use
all Internet services via e-mail, will it present a security risk? It is
not really the additional expense of the firewall that I am concerned
about, rather it is the additional complexity and
knowledge involved with a firewall that concerns me. I will be grateful
for your reply.

Regards,
Cxxxxx Txxx

Which one would you like to read? Now add in that on a dial up it may
take 10 minutes (or longer) to download all your mail (adding time in
for the inevitable attached pictures, on a typical 56k connection you
can plan on about 6 minutes per meg of picture size)
Also include the little fact that you can hide some real nasty things in
HTML and cause trouble, as well as sticking in phishing HTML which the
marketers use just to find live addresses (they insert a small HTML code
that opens as soon as you open the message, it tells them that you have
a working E-mail account, they then sell your address to spammers)

Steve Williams
Near Cooperstown, New York

Pacifism - The theory that if they'd fed
Jeffrey Dahmer enough human flesh,
he'd have become a vegan.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bill Boyce" <bboyce at swat.coop>
To: "The SEL email discussion list" <sel at lists.stationary-engine.com>
Sent: Sunday, December 18, 2005 9:57 PM
Subject: Re: [SEL] Snipping and Flaming ( what is HTML )

> could someone explain what the difference between html and plain text
is ? i
> went to the outlook express options and found i had the html button
turned
> on, but i have no idea what
> thats all about,,,
> bill boyce
> lost prairie, arkansas
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Listerdiesel" <listerdiesel at gmail.com>
> To: <SEL at lists.stationary-engine.com>
> Cc: <stationary-engine at oldengine.org>
> Sent: Sunday, December 18, 2005 5:05 AM
> Subject: [SEL] Snipping and Flaming
>
>
> >>
> > Posting in HTML is another waste of space and time for those who
don't
> > want to see it or don't have news and email readers that can use it.
> > HTML code is another back-door entry for viruses, and should not be
> > used for email.
> > >
> >
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> SEL mailing list
> SEL at lists.stationary-engine.com
> http://www.stationary-engine.com/mailman/listinfo/sel
>