Re: Links in email

[Peter Kent <techwr -at- ARUNDEL -dot- COM>]

> Based on the discussion so far, would it be safe to say that if, instead
> of
> just

> "...and you can check out my home page at http://www.rpi.edu/~ashrafs you
> will
> get more info on this topic"

> [note the omission of the comma after the URL/address]

> I wrote

> "...and you can check out <a href="http://www.rpi.edu/~ashrafs";>my home
> page</a>, you will get more info on this topic"

> or even

> "...and you can check out <a href="http://www.rpi.edu/~ashrafs";>my home
> page at
> http://www.rpi.edu/~ashrafs</a>, you will get more info on this topic"

> it would be readable by most mail programs that allow linking of any
> sort?

No, it would not be reasonable to assume this. The last two you cite will
not work properly in some e-mail programs. The first apparently won't work
in Claris Emailer (according to Arlen Walker). From what I've seen (and I've
used a lot of email programs), I think  a URL alone, unenclosed, will
probably work in more programs than a URL enclosed in something or followed
by a period. (Note, by the way, that relatively few people use Claris
Emailer; the biggies are Netscape Mail, MS Mail and News or Outlook Express
or whatever they're calling that thing this week, and Eudora). Unfortunately
each program is different, so there's no perfect system.

> I would like to hear about where a space is valid in a URL [home page
> address
> or e-mail address]. And I am not pulling your leg or flaming/daring you;
> I once
> had someone give me an e-mail address with a space in it. I forget what
> it
> turned out to be but there was a reason of some sort.

Spaces in URLs and e-mail addresses are _extremely_ rare. You certainly can
have spaces in URLs, as in UNIX, Windows 95, Windows NT, and Mac OS you can
have spaces in directory names, but you won't see many URLs like that. As
for e-mail addresses, I don't think I've ever seen one with a space in it.

Peter Kent

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