RE: BEGIN_SRC..END_SRC

["Drew Adams" <drew.adams@oracle.com>]

> > > Do these BEGIN_SRC and END_SRC marks serve some useful 
> > > purpose in mail messages?
> > 
> > In recent Gnus builds it will font lock that part off the message
> > appropriatly, making it look pretty.

Will the next Gnus version randomly inject spinning globes, "You've WON!!"
banners, and other 1990s animelia?  Can't wait!  Wonder what that will look like
as markup...  Should liven up (and prettify!) the GNU mailing lists.

> Thanks, but why isn't this done in general-purpose font-lock of email
> messages?  Why limit this to Gnus?

Bzzzzt - wrong question.  The question is NOT why we don't extend or generalize
it to other Emacs email paraphernalia besides Gnus.  The question is why we send
this crap at all in plain-text messages?

That such markup might be useful within Org mode or Gnus or even Emacs generally
is no reason to expose it in plain-text mail.

We discourage the use of HTML messages in GNU mailing lists.  But then
Gnus/Org/Emacs goes and rolls its own simulacrum?  And then everyone who is not
using Emacs for mail has the obligatory privilege of seeing the markup?

If Gnus/Emacs wants to render HTML or XML markup, great.  Email clients of many
stripes generally know how to do that, so users do not see the markup itself.

But whatever Gnus/Emacs decides to do about markup and "looking pretty", please
keep the markup out of plain-text messages.  Some mailing list subscribers read
and write mail outside of Emacs (imagine that).  And some mailing lists are
mirrored to newsgroups and websites that can also be accessed without Emacs
(imagine that).

"Font-lock" prettifying doesn't mean a whole lot to the outside world.

(Note: I would have no problem with the GNU mailing lists NOT discouraging HTML
messages.  My point is that we should not (a) discourage HTML and then (b) bring
in some artisanal, Emacs-specific markup through the back door.  HTML and XML at
least provide (more or less) standard markup that is supported by many clients.)

#+END_GNUS