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[GWL]: Business and PR rant. :-)

I had several folks write me about html pr releases and firewalls.  Let me 
try to clarify a few things for you.  If several write, there's more asking 
so here's the answer (in rough form).  ;-)  I apologize if this is not of 
interest to other garden writers.

1) While your computer is hooked up to the net or to a specific website, it 
is possible and it does happen, that the site can obtain access to parts of 
your computer.  For example, an intrusive site can change your browser 
settings, install software and do other things that you really don't want 
to happen. This has been reported quite often on some marketing boards and 
web promotion boards.

2) html email is essentially sending a web page to your email browser.  If 
you are hooked up to the net while you are reading an html email, then that 
web page has access to your browser.  It is easy to set an executable 
programme to run inside html tags - in other words, once you open up your 
html email a programme can be set to run as part of that email - a virus is 
one such programme - a worm or control feature is another.

3) Sophisticated firewalls can strip the html code off an email - rendering 
it harmless.  This is one way that servers can prevent intrusions into 
their systems.  Once the controlling html code is gone from the email - it 
resembles a beginners lesson in coding - all symbols, code words and 
repeated garbage.

4) Home firewalls do not strip html code from messages yet.  I've trialed 
both of the major systems (I *much* prefer BlackIce by the way and this 
sits on my machine as I write) for home control. They do an excellent job 
of preventing hacker attacks without screwing up the rest of my system, but 
are not yet set up to prevent html codes from operating.

In my case, I usually delete spam without reading it - it never gets to my 
main mailboxes. If one does slip through to be opened and is html, I delete 
it immediately without giving it a chance to download or connect to its 
server. If - and I repeat if it had a chance to hook up, I'd unhook from 
the net immediately or - as has happened to me on the Net - I'd simply turn 
off or hit the reboot button for the entire computer the moment I lost 
control of my system.

Bottom line - the advantage with html mail is that it generates a better 
marketing response than does a straight text email.  People respond to 
pictures and colours in their ads better than they respond to straight text.

The problem is that html email usually bothers the heck out of journalists 
who get too many emails in a day as it is. If their firewall screws up the 
html coding, (or if there is an error in the coding at the point of origin, 
ie. you screw up)  they won't bother to read the garbage, they simply dump 
it.  This is as reported on several different writer/journalism boards 
where I hang out and is not simply my paranoia working.  We won't even get 
into long download times or poor design or .... ;-)

So - at this time in the Net, html coding is not a desired feature for 
journalists. Use it at your own business peril.  This may change but hey - 
why put a barrier between your product and your target.

Doug
Douglas Green,
Freelance writing: You've got a story to tell - I can write it.
http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/clips/clipmaster.htm
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