HTML in e-mail: Can forms be used?

Karl Groves <karl.DeleteThis@NOSPAMkarlcore.com> wrote:

>Let me preface this by saying we don't need to get into a discussion about
>the numerous problems with HTML e-mail. I need to supply an answer to
>someone about a very specific question: What sort of problems are possible
>if you send a form via HTML e-mail? I don't have any personal experience
>in doing so (frankly it is the kind of thing I'd never even think of
>doing). I imagine that the form itself would be displayed, but I also think
>most mail clients would generate all sorts of security warnings possibly
>even disable the form. Anyone have any experience with this?
>
>
>TIA

I'd expect the biggest problem to be that some folks have
display-as-text set in their mail-client and your form would show up
as tags instead of a form within an html-rendered page. Personally I
wouldn't even consider allowing my mail client to begin fetching
who-knows-what from the web without my involvement, but it seems like
most folks just let 'er rip.

If a mail-client supports html, it should be supporting html and that
includes forms. Your server almost certainly doesn't care what UA is
posting form data. The recipient's mail-client may have rendering
problems starting with display-as-text, or other problems, but all
UA's may have problems of one kind or another.

I'd say avoid it; if you can't avoid it test it with a couple very
popular mail clients and if the server is behaving properly call it
good (it'll never be good, but you can call it good and move on to
something else pretending the support nightmares will be sweet
dreams).

Best luck, if you need more specifics I'm sure someone here can cough
them up.

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 >> Stay informed about: HTML in e-mail: Can forms be used? 

Mark Goodge <usenet.RemoveThis@listmail.good-stuff.co.uk> wrote:

>Karl Groves wrote:
>> Blinky the Shark <no.spam.RemoveThis@box.invalid> wrote in
>> news:slrnfgqi3p.dr2.no.spam@thurston.blinkynet.net:
>>
>>> Karl Groves wrote:
>>>> Let me preface this by saying we don't need to get into a discussion
>>>> about the numerous problems with HTML e-mail. I need to supply an
>>>> answer to someone about a very specific question: What sort of
>>>> problems are possible if you send a form via HTML e-mail?
>>> Very Specific Problem #1: The intended recipient, blocking HTML emails,
>>> will never see it.
>>
>> You must've missed the first sentence in my post.
>
>It's still a relevant point, though. The fact that not everyone will see
>HTML emails as HTML isn't necessarily a problem if they're well-written.
>If you use text/alternative to provide a plain-text fallback, and write
>the HTML itself in such a way that it's still readable when rendered
>into plain text by software (like Outlook) which converts it, then the
>content of an HTML email is still usable by the recipient even if they
>can't see all the colours and images that you sent along with it. It's
>not too difficult to get an HTML email to degrade gracefully to plain
>text, provided you ensure that all the actual content (as opposed to
>layout and decoration) is in text rather than images, so for most
>purposes it doesn't actually matter that not all recipients will see the
>HTML enhancements.
>
>However, if you're going to put something into the email which actually
>requires HTML in order to function, then it does matter. A form element
>won't degrade gracefully - if it isn't rendered as intended, then it
>simply won't function at all. So, instead of the problem being the
>relatively small number of potential recipients who can't handle HTML or
>multipart in any form - even to degrade it - the issue is the number of
>potential recipients who can't handle HTML in exactly the form in which
>it is sent - which is a lot higher.
>
>Mark

Indeed. I'd opt for including a link to the form in a plain-text
message, but I'm an opinionated old fart who has display-as-text set
in his mail-client and considers html emails to be rudeness pushing
hard against the "useless spam" border.

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 >> Stay informed about: HTML in e-mail: Can forms be used? 

SpaceGirl <nothespacegirlspam.RemoveThis@subhuman.net> wrote:

>Els wrote:
>> Karl Groves wrote:
>>
>>> BTW - where ya been?
>>
>> Busy
>>
>
>heh. yeah we sit around all day posting in here instead of real work
>
>
>*hug* missed you

I didn't, really, but I'm posting as something else now, I think,
instead of "hug". And I haven't missed anyone because I've not been
reading the group very much. I seem to have gotten bored away or
something. Welcome back Els.

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 >> Stay informed about: HTML in e-mail: Can forms be used? 

David Hennessy <david.TakeThisOut@maidix.com> wrote in
news:9NCdnVXQmuCU2ZLanZ2dnUVZ_qjinZ2d@comcast.com:

> Karl Groves wrote:
>> Let me preface this by saying we don't need to get into a discussion
>> about the numerous problems with HTML e-mail. I need to supply an
>> answer to someone about a very specific question: What sort of
>> problems are possible if you send a form via HTML e-mail? I don't
>> have any personal experience in doing so (frankly it is the kind of
>> thing I'd never even think of doing). I imagine that the form itself
>> would be displayed, but I also think most mail clients would generate
>> all sorts of security warnings possibly even disable the form.
>> Anyone have any experience with this?
>>
>>
>> TIA
>>
>
>
> I'm not sure if this would work or not, but you could try putting the
> form inside of a Flash movie that's embedded in the email (the actual
> Flash movie can be on the server, just referenced in the HTML). I'll
> pre-emptively refrain from going into the numerous problems with using
> Flash.
>

Sorry, sir. AWW rules clearly state we can have only one threadjack per
month and that site is currently the Target thread. Please see an
associate if you need further assistance.

Karl
 >> Stay informed about: HTML in e-mail: Can forms be used? 

Karl Groves wrote:
> David Hennessy <david.DeleteThis@maidix.com> wrote in
> news:9NCdnVXQmuCU2ZLanZ2dnUVZ_qjinZ2d@comcast.com:
>
>> Karl Groves wrote:
>>> Let me preface this by saying we don't need to get into a discussion
>>> about the numerous problems with HTML e-mail. I need to supply an
>>> answer to someone about a very specific question: What sort of
>>> problems are possible if you send a form via HTML e-mail? I don't
>>> have any personal experience in doing so (frankly it is the kind of
>>> thing I'd never even think of doing). I imagine that the form itself
>>> would be displayed, but I also think most mail clients would generate
>>> all sorts of security warnings possibly even disable the form.
>>> Anyone have any experience with this?
>>>
>>>
>>> TIA
>>>
>>
>> I'm not sure if this would work or not, but you could try putting the
>> form inside of a Flash movie that's embedded in the email (the actual
>> Flash movie can be on the server, just referenced in the HTML). I'll
>> pre-emptively refrain from going into the numerous problems with using
>> Flash.
>>
>
> Sorry, sir. AWW rules clearly state we can have only one threadjack per
> month and that site is currently the Target thread. Please see an
> associate if you need further assistance.
>


I keep pushing the button, and I hear it make a noise, but nobody's been
over to wait on me. I think the guy sitting in the seat next to me might
be dead. That doesn't bode well, because I was hoping to get some pretzels.

--
Namaste,
David
 >> Stay informed about: HTML in e-mail: Can forms be used? 

SpaceGirl wrote:

> heh. yeah we sit around all day posting in here instead of real work

Apparently! <g>

> *hug* missed you

I'll make sure to drop in more often

--
Els http://locusmeus.com/
 >> Stay informed about: HTML in e-mail: Can forms be used? 

Els <els.aNOSPAM RemoveThis @tiscali.nl> wrote in news:14cgdf4rnmro2$.a2eneqt86uzf.dlg@
40tude.net:

> ol'softy wrote:
>
>> SpaceGirl <nothespacegirlspam RemoveThis @subhuman.net> wrote:
>
>>>*hug* missed you
>>
>> I didn't, really, but I'm posting as something else now, I think,
>> instead of "hug". And I haven't missed anyone because I've not been
>> reading the group very much. I seem to have gotten bored away or
>> something. Welcome back Els.
>
> Hi "hug" !
> Now if we could get Mr. Sweeney and Mr. Tasso back too, people
> wouldn't have to be 'bored away or something'
>

I sure miss that William Tasso.

Karl
 >> Stay informed about: HTML in e-mail: Can forms be used? 

ol'softy wrote:

> SpaceGirl <nothespacegirlspam RemoveThis @subhuman.net> wrote:

>>*hug* missed you
>
> I didn't, really, but I'm posting as something else now, I think,
> instead of "hug". And I haven't missed anyone because I've not been
> reading the group very much. I seem to have gotten bored away or
> something. Welcome back Els.

Hi "hug" !
Now if we could get Mr. Sweeney and Mr. Tasso back too, people
wouldn't have to be 'bored away or something'

--
Els http://locusmeus.com/
 >> Stay informed about: HTML in e-mail: Can forms be used? 

Karl Groves wrote:
> Els <els.aNOSPAM.TakeThisOut@tiscali.nl> wrote in news:14cgdf4rnmro2$.a2eneqt86uzf.dlg@
> 40tude.net:

>> Now if we could get Mr. Sweeney and Mr. Tasso back too, people
>> wouldn't have to be 'bored away or something'
>
> I sure miss that William Tasso.

Yep. Losing William was a...er...well, a loss.

--
Blinky RLU 297263
Killing all posts from Google Groups
The Usenet Improvement Project - http://improve-usenet.org
 >> Stay informed about: HTML in e-mail: Can forms be used? 

Blinky the Shark wrote:
> Karl Groves wrote:
>> Els <els.aNOSPAM RemoveThis @tiscali.nl> wrote in news:14cgdf4rnmro2$.a2eneqt86uzf.dlg@
>> 40tude.net:
>
>>> Now if we could get Mr. Sweeney and Mr. Tasso back too, people
>>> wouldn't have to be 'bored away or something'
>> I sure miss that William Tasso.
>
> Yep. Losing William was a...er...well, a loss.
>

Whatever happened to Mr. Tasso?

--
==================
Remove the "x" from my email address
Jerry Stuckle
JDS Computer Training Corp.
jstucklex RemoveThis @attglobal.net
==================
 >> Stay informed about: HTML in e-mail: Can forms be used? 

Els <els.aNOSPAM DeleteThis @tiscali.nl> wrote:

>ol'softy wrote:
>
>> SpaceGirl <nothespacegirlspam DeleteThis @subhuman.net> wrote:
>
>>>*hug* missed you
>>
>> I didn't, really, but I'm posting as something else now, I think,
>> instead of "hug". And I haven't missed anyone because I've not been
>> reading the group very much. I seem to have gotten bored away or
>> something. Welcome back Els.
>
>Hi "hug" !
>Now if we could get Mr. Sweeney and Mr. Tasso back too, people
>wouldn't have to be 'bored away or something'

What the heck happened to them anyway? Too busy making money to do
the Important Stuff I'll wager, absolutely digusting. <g>

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 >> Stay informed about: HTML in e-mail: Can forms be used? 

This message is not archived
 >> Stay informed about: HTML in e-mail: Can forms be used? 

Yorkshire Pete wrote:
> On 12 Oct 2007 Jerry Stuckle wrote in alt.www.webmaster
>
>> Blinky the Shark wrote:
>>> Karl Groves wrote:
>>>> Els <els.aNOSPAM.DeleteThis@tiscali.nl> wrote in
>>>> news:14cgdf4rnmro2$.a2eneqt86uzf.dlg@ 40tude.net:
>>>
>>>>> Now if we could get Mr. Sweeney and Mr. Tasso back too, people
>>>>> wouldn't have to be 'bored away or something'
>>>> I sure miss that William Tasso.
>>>
>>> Yep. Losing William was a...er...well, a loss.
>>>
>>
>> Whatever happened to Mr. Tasso?
>>
>
> eloped with Els.

Looks like he just gave her back.

--
Blinky RLU 297263
Killing all posts from Google Groups
The Usenet Improvement Project - http://improve-usenet.org
 >> Stay informed about: HTML in e-mail: Can forms be used?