HTML "transition" (was Re: [ih] spam...)

[Joe Touch]

Perry E. Metzger wrote:
> An interesting question, away from the spam discussion, is whether or
> not we are "transitioning" to HTML as the preferred email carrier.
> 
> Now, it is true that a lot of HTML email is going around out there,
> but so are a lot of microsoft .doc files and I doubt that .doc will be
> anything but a memory in 20 or 25 years.

I'm not a big MS OS fan, but MS-Word disproves this.

I can open a document written in May 1986 with Office XP (just did it to 
verify it works). That's 17 years, and I don't see that changing in the 
next 5.

 > Experience says that no one
> will have tools that will read .doc from now with anything like
> original fidelity.

With a little slack (17 isn't 20, but it's close), point disproven 
above. FWIW, this includes multiple fonts and font sizes, and embedded 
figures.

Joe