Several (one in particular) email vendors have chose to default their mail software to use non-standard formats for outbound messages.  This page is an attempt to help users correct these "problems" so that their messages will appear as normal text on the SHOtimes mailing list (especially the digest version).

If you are not happy with your current mail software, there are plenty of alternatives out there (provided you're using a standard POP/SMTP system).  Most internet service providers (this does not include AOL or MSN) use this type of mail system, so any POP/SMTP compliant software should work.  Contact your provider for more details.

If you wish to continue using your current software, please find your "problem" below and attempt to correct it using the methods given.


"My mail has an equals sign at the end of each line."

Microsoft Exchange comes defaulted to use the "ISO-8859-1" standard, which is not in widespread use on the internet.  This causes the digest to attempt to translate the nonstandard characters to something that can be sent out via the digest.

The solution can be found in Microsoft's support pages.  Click here to get their instructions.


"My mail software attaches a file called WINMAIL.DAT to the end of every message."

Once again, Microsoft decides the Internet should adhere to Microsoft's "standard".  This happens when a Microsoft mail client uses "rich text formatting".

The solution (once again) can be found in Microsoft's support pages.  Click here and here to get their instructions.


"My mail software keeps sending outbound messages HTML formatted."

If you're using Microsoft mail,  click here for instructions on how to set it to only use text.