E Mails are gobbledegook. Why?. (1 Viewer)

[devon.birder]

I expect like myself many members of Bird Forums also receive the E Mail Digest from Surfbirds. For a long time now I have to wade through reams of gobbledegook either before or after I have read the message. The Administrator of Surfbirds has been unable to offer any advice so I was wondering whether it is just me with this problem or do other members also suffer this problem. An example of what I mean appears below with apologies if the sender recognises his or her E Mail from this small extract. Roger

size=3D2>http://www.bou.org.uk/meet2prog.html</FONT></A></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=3DMsoNormal=20
style=3D"MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt; mso-line-height-rule: =
exactly"><FONT=20
size=3D2><FONT size=3D2><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Trebuchet MS'; =
mso-bidi-font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'"><FONT=20
size=3D2></FONT></SPAN></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV class=3DMsoNormal=20
style=3D"MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt; mso-line

 

[Martin_H]

Hi,

It is html, the text that is behind webpages. Some email clients can read html and so provide you with a graphic email, with text, pictures, etc all formatted nicely, which gives a much better email 'experience'. Some email clients are not html compatible so just display the text your recieve. I think this is the case here.

Two options are available, use a different email client (or enable html if it is not enabled), or amend your own settings at the sender (surfbirds, if you have the option) to have 'text only' emails.

Hope that helps.

Martin

 

[devon.birder]

Hi,

It is html, the text that is behind webpages. Some email clients can read html and so provide you with a graphic email, with text, pictures, etc all formatted nicely, which gives a much better email 'experience'. Some email clients are not html compatible so just display the text your recieve. I think this is the case here.

Two options are available, use a different email client (or enable html if it is not enabled), or amend your own settings at the sender (surfbirds, if you have the option) to have 'text only' emails.

Hope that helps.

Martin

Hi Martin. I have html enabled already so I don't think that can be the cause. I don't think I can amend my settings at Surfbirds either as I have already exchanged several E Mails with their Administrator.
I just wondered whether other Bird Forum members had this problem. It is so annoying. Roger

 

[Tannin]

The fragment quoted above is perfectly ordinary HTML. Your email program isn't showing HTML formatted mail correctly - i.e., it has lost the plot. Get a more modern and reliable email program, there are literally dozens to make a choice from. For safety's sake, get one that sanitises maliciously-formed HTML messages. Thunderbird is an excellent example, but there are plenty of others, so pick whichever one you like.

 

[Keith Reeder]

It actually looks like MS Word-created HTML (AKA bloat) and some clients just can't cope.

Either:

tell 'em to stop sending HTML emails (nasty, virus-carrying, bandwidght hogging things), or

use Thunderbird and "sanitise" the HTML as Tannin suggests.

I hate HTML emails!!

 

[devon.birder]

It actually looks like MS Word-created HTML (AKA bloat) and some clients just can't cope.

Either:

tell 'em to stop sending HTML emails (nasty, virus-carrying, bandwidght hogging things), or

use Thunderbird and "sanitise" the HTML as Tannin suggests.

I hate HTML emails!!

Thanks for that guys. I have just downloaded Thunderbird as recommended. On reflection my problems with the gobbledegook probably started last March when I had a new hard drive and Windows XP installed as I was previously using Mozilla with Windows 98SE. I started to use Outlook Express and Internet Explorer again with XP. Roger

 

[devon.birder]

I have just run in to a problem with Thunderbird. I use 3 E Mail addresses and with OE I can switch between them in seconds. I also run a Spam Filter, Presorium Frontgate MX, on what used to be my main E Mail address because that gets abour 100 spam E Mails a day. How can I switch between addresses with Thunderbird?. Roger

 

[Tannin]

I'll take the first question first, Roger,

You can almost certainly use your spam filter with Thunderbird, but I doubt there is any need. Thunderbird has excellent built-in spam filtering. (I used to use what I thought was a pretty good spam filter - Junk Spy - but I stopped bothering with it ater switching because TB's own filter was even better.)

Go to TOOLS - JUNK MAIL CONTROLS and make it look like this (picture attached). Anything that slips through and winds up in your inbox, mark as junk. Thunderbird will learn and, over time, mark similar items itself in future.

For multiple accounts, go TOOLS - ACCOUNT SETTINGS and click "add account". You can have the mail go into its own inboxes (i.e., have three inboxes) or have it all go into one, called "local folders", up to you. As you probably already know, setting up multiple accounts gets a bit tricky and you have to think stuff through - but this applies to any email client. I find it easier in Thunderbird than in any other email client I've used except PMMail, but I think that's just familiarity. It's always a little curly.

It's generally better to use just one account for sending mail if you can, as otherwise you are faced with yet another layer of complexity.

PS: the standard email protocol is called SMTP - the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. This has scary implications - I often find myself feeling thankful that I've never met the Complcated Mail Transfer Protocol!

 

[devon.birder]

Thanks for that very helpfull advice Tannin and I apologise for the delay in thanking you. All is now well. Roger