1759668 - Set the preference "send messages as plain text if possible" to false as a default

Status: NEW

(Thunderbird :: Preferences, enhancement)

Description

[Matt]

Thunderbird defaults to silently converting HTML email to plain text on send, now folk are turning up on support forums asking why their fonts are different between compose and the send folder and then spending days with others fiddling with the Thunderbird fonts for just about every contingency and language to make the plain text font match the compose window. While having preferences is great, having no reset to default option when they have changed all the font preferences is probably a good reason to no encourage such actions.

As there are probably very few people in the world that actually want a plain text email I would like to see the default changed to something more user friendly that does not require them to reconsider their assumptions. Even the simplest email has font size and name attributes attached as far as the general user is concerned. Let's not disappoint them but silently converting their composition to something it is not.

Comment 1

[Thomas D. (:thomas8)]

Attachment: Screenshot: Send Options - current "Send messages as plaintext if possible" pref UI

Thanks Matt. I have successfully advocated for reducing the format-loss impact of this option in the past, and for having this pref exposed in the UI at all. Atm I would think it's quite acceptable as-is, and I'm not sure about defaulting to HTML overhead when there's virtually zero formatting in the message.

• What's stopping users from just unchecking the pref in the UI? Note that the Send Options dialog will be going away in bug 1727493, which will elevate the [x] Send messages as plaintext if possible checkbox to the main level of Composition prefs section, hence easier to find.
• Can you be more specific about the alleged 'formatting' which your sample users feel is getting lost? Note: We can never fully control the message display of the receiving client.
• Screenshots / testcases?
• Links to support questions?

Comment 2

[Matt]

I have little interest in offering a detailed argument for fixing poor UI defaults. I would expect the reasons it is a poor choice to be self-evident.

Personally, I am not aware a single reason why it is as it is, users expect a WYSIWYG email experience but for some reason Thunderbird does not deliver. I suggest you try explaining to the customer why it happens and is a good idea. Then I will have an understanding of why we do this rather bizarre and underhanded modification.

Here is one now https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1372595

Comment 3

[Ben Bucksch (:BenB)]

Matt, that user is complaining about the font. Neither he nor we can guarantee a certain font on the recipient side, anyways: Neither that the font is installed, nor that it will be used for display. [For what the user can do, see comment 4 below.]

This shows a very fundamental misunderstanding about how email and electronic communication in general works: As sender, you have no idea how the recipient will see the message. That is true both for HTML and for plaintext. The display depends on the reader's preferences, not on the sender's preferences. And that is correct this way. I want to read the my incoming mail how I like to see them, not how each of the senders like them, e.g. in their font or font size preferences. E.g. old people prefer larger fonts, I like smaller fonts. That's in addition to the many variants in email readers. There's no such thing as WYSIWYG in email. And that is good and by design. Email is not paper.

Closing as WONTFIX.

Comment 4

[Ben Bucksch (:BenB)]

As for the users who complain about this, they can set Preferences | Composing | Send Options to "Send as HTML+Plain" and disable "Send plaintext when possible" in their personal preferences. This should send HTML in all cases. No matter what the default is, some people will complain. That's why they are preferences.

Comment 5

[Matt]

(In reply to Ben Bucksch (:BenB) from comment #3)

Matt, that user is complaining about the font.
Yes the font they set and we removed in the conversion process from HTML email to plain text which as you know contains no font information.

Why are we doing this bizarre thing?

Especially, why are we defaulting to doing this?

You closed the bug, but why are we are doing this conversion at all? and why is it so hard to change what appears to me to be a hang over from ancient times when we got mail on expensive data links as 2400baud.

You closed it, but you did not address the request, or offer any information why HTML mails are converted to text without a reference to the user.

I am not a neophyte I know how email works. What I do not understand is why you would not be pointing out that the user loosing data because of this option was the user complaining about fonts. In their eye, they have lost data. In my eye Thunderbird silently and without regard to the majorities of users preferences removed data.

Comment 6

[Matt]

(In reply to Ben Bucksch (:BenB) from comment #4)

As for the users who complain about this, they can set Preferences | Composing | Send Options to "Send as HTML+Plain" and disable "Send plaintext when possible" in their personal preferences. This should send HTML in all cases. No matter what the default is, some people will complain. That's why they are preferences.

Why can not the minority that want this actually change their preference. That is what I filled this bug for!
Those that want plain text are rarely new users and are in reality rare. The world adopted HTML mail some 20 years ago. We certainly drop the corporate font ball when we remove that for enterprise customers.

Comment 7

[Ben Bucksch (:BenB)]

why are we defaulting to doing this?

Matt, you're around long enough to know that HTML vs. plaintext is the email flamewar. I respect your opinion, but I do not share it. There are very good reasons why the defaults are the way they are. We're going to get flames no matter what the default is. I'm not going to discuss this (the defaults, the logic, the reasons, whatever) every time somebody files a bug or makes some argument.

Users who don't like the default can change the preference. That's what they are for. The users can get what they want. Feel free to make a FAQ document on support.mozilla.org or somewhere else, with the right key words in the user terms that they can find on Google, which points to this preference.

Comment 8

[Magnus Melin [:mkmelin]]

There are cases to be made for both options. I think this is an area we could do some user research on, and we should soon also have some Telemetry on how common it is for users to find and change the default.