[imp] Reply-quoted paragraphs from HTML-only messages have spurious indentation

[Jan Schneider]

Zitat von Michael <michael_2007 at bugmenot.com>:

> Hi
>
> When an HTML message _without_ a plain text alternative part is quoted
> for reply in IMP 4.1, two extra spaces are inserted between the
> chevron and the first word of every proper paragraph ('/<p[^>]*> ?/i'
> => "\n\n  ").  The result is an odd-looking first-line-only indent for
> each quoted paragraph, no matter whether the reply is in plain text or
> HTML format.
>
> This is inconsistent: it does not occur with <br>-style linebreak
> "paragraphs", with HTML messages that include plain text alternative
> parts, or with plain text-only messages, as shown below.  Please note
> the extra spaces in the last example.
>
>       Plain text-only original reply-quoting:
>       > This paragraph
>       > is quoted.
>
>       HTML with plain text alternative original reply-quoting:
>       > This paragraph
>       > is quoted.
>
>       HTML-only original reply-quoting:
>       >   This paragraph
>       > is quoted.
>
> I am told that this is not a bug: that first lines of paragraphs are
> always indented and that this is a common layout which cannot be
> disabled.
>
> In which email clients is this layout common?  I cannot recall ever
> seeing this elsewhere, at least not as a default.  It also runs
> contrary to traditional Usenet quoting style.
>
> In my view this behaviour goes against established convention and
> misrepresents the original text.  Not only could this cause wrapping
> issues, but it can also impair clarity if preceded by a line with one
> additional level of indentation: the extra spaces cause the first line
> to line up with a different writer's text.
>
> Why does IMP operate in this inconsistent manner?  Is unalterable
> insertion of foreign whitespace into quoted text in a subset of cases
> truly desirable behaviour?

Maybe I didn't make this clear in the bug tracker (thus I asked you to  
move this discussion to the mailing list), but this has nothing to do  
with quoting. The indention is added by the html-to-text converter. To  
talk about working against established conventions, while we talk  
about a message that had been html-only initially, is moot.

Jan.

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