Email Standards Project
There was a time when most of the email sent and received was in plain text. Now, however, you can change fonts and colors, add backgrounds and even graphics. This has led to email that is very much like reading web pages. The problem with this is the same problem we’ve had with web pages — not all email clients can read all HTML-based email.
The Email Standards Project is an effort to bring HTML standards to HTML-based email by working with email client developers and designers. Similar to the Web Standards Project, they have created an HTML-based email message based on specific HTML markup — the Acid Test.
The home page lists the major email clients, how they fared in the Acid Test, and a link to each full report. Here’s a quick run-down:
Excellent:
- AOL Webmail
- Apple Mail
- Eudora
- Entourage
- Thunderbird
- Windows Live Mail
- Windows Mail
- Yahoo! Mail
- Yahoo! Mail Classic
Average:
- Windows Live Hotmail
Poor:
- Apple .Mac
- Google Gmail
- Lotus Notes 8
- Outlook 2007
