On Sat, Aug 30, 2025 at 7:42 AM Andrey Semashev via Boost < boost@lists.boost.org> wrote:
Plain text is the only sustainable format for long-term online communication
Rich‑text (Markdown/HTML) makes C++ mailing‑list discussions clearer than plain text. It preserves code exactly (indentation, tabs, long lines), highlights identifiers, and avoids smart‑quote breakage. Structured text—headings, lists, steps—lets people skim proposals; diagrams and benchmark figures remove guesswork; quoting exact lines stays stable. Archives become searchable documents and are easier for screen readers. There’s no downside: send multipart/alternative with a clean plaintext sibling and a sanitized HTML version; block remote images; keep patches in plain text; publish a tiny style guide. Result: fewer misunderstandings, faster reviews, better archives. We don’t allow undefined behavior in code; let’s avoid undefined meaning in email. And no Comic Sans.