[Prefer Plain] Generate plain text from text/html, if not available
While most senders of HTML message have the decency to provide an alternate TEXT, some do not, forcing the user to see and interact with HTML, whether the user wants it or not. I am a user who do not want to interact with HTML for reasons that will become apparent below. I am evaluating Evolution as a replacement for Thunderbird. I have activated the Prefer Plain Text plugin.
Well formatted emails with both TEXT and HTML parts display as expected.
Emails with HTML only display only the HTML, and here lies the problem. The sender can obfuscate a link to harmful content inside the HTML tag:
<a href="https://malware.server/malware_payload.html">a beautiful harmless link</a>
The user will see a beautiful harmless link. Only the few will look down to the status bar where the link is displayed before being clicked. The current design of the UI is not helping the user discern whether the link is good or bad.
Forgive me for comparing: Thunderbird has solved this nicely: for messages without TEXT part, a TEXT part is generated from the HTML part, stripped of all tags and with the links visible in their gory detail. Sender can still obfuscate behind click-trackers and URL-shortener of all sorts, but at least the user is put in a position to make a deliberate, conscious decision.
Would the Evolution developers consider adding the feature of:
- creating a stripped down version of the HTML message
- display that stripped down TEXT instead of no TEXT?
In the alternative, would the Evolution developers consider displaying a post-it yellow style info box under the mouse when hovering a link, and display the link conspicuously there, rather than or in addition to the inconspicuous display in the status bar at the bottom of the window?