Hi,
* Peter Lewis prlewis@fsfe.org [091210 14:18]:
- *Line break of e-mails* Should be around 72 characters. Nobody will kill you if it is 70 or 74 or even 76. But a lot of people will get angry if you do not have a line break at all.
Can I ask what the reason behind this is?
I really don't like static word wrapping, as much as I don't like static width web pages. I read emails on a variety of devices and window sizes, and the presumption that ~72 characters is appropriate for wherever I'm reading it seems rather arbitrary.
A good client should have dynamic word wrapping IMO.
I don't think so. A good client should show exactly the content of an e-mail. If there is no line break, don't show it. I use mutt (IMHO one of the best e-mail clients out there) which adds a coloured "+" if a text without a line break hits the right margin in the pager. I think the 72 chars recommendation has something to do with the 80 chars width of a standard terminal (not sure about it though). I personally believe it's better to have narrow lines and more of them instead having to read endless lines (and maybe have to scroll in a GUI mail client that does not break lines automatically, which I prefer as already mentioned).
All the best, Martin