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non-HTML email hard to use, missing links

description

I am subscribed to email notifications for a codeplex project (TypeScript), and my email client is set to display the plain text version of emails, for safety reasons. Unfortunately, the plain text version of codeplex notifications is not only badly formatted, it also does not include links from posts at all.

Posts that use the common practice of embedding HTML links in text do not give any indication whatsoever that there was a link to more information in the post. It should be straightforward to extract links and add them to the plain text post, with or without numbered references. Ideally, the text formatting could be made readable, too.

comments

TomCornelius wrote Jan 17 at 4:45 PM

Thanks for the heads up.

clausreinke wrote Jan 21 at 8:18 AM

Posts that use the common practice of embedding HTML links in text do not give any indication whatsoever that there was a link to more information in the post. - can you explain what do you mean by this one? I just can't get into it
If a poster relies on the HTML renderer to highlight a text phrase as a link, then the HTML-stripped text has no link, and no hint that there should be a link. Example:

a) We're discussing this on CodePlex.

b) We're discussing this on CodePlex.

c) We're discussing [1] this on CodePlex.
[1] http://codeplex.codeplex.com/workitem/26614

d) We're discussing (http://codeplex.codeplex.com/workitem/26614) this on CodePlex.

In the HTML rendering (a), you can see the link, in the stripped rendering (b), you don't even know there should be a link. If you turn the links into text (c or d), the stripped rendering will include the links. Instead of stripping links with the HTML, the non-HTML rendering should include the links, using something like (c) or (d).

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