[EM] Re: Russ's stories about me and computer programming

[Russ Paielli]

MIKE OSSIPOFF nkklrp-at-hotmail.com |EMlist| wrote:

> I'd noticed that e-mail sometimes changes line format and indentations. 
> I'd had the experience of Python indentations scrambled by e-mail.

The only posible reason I can think of for that is the use of HTML for 
email. The obvioius solution is then to not use HTML for email. Standard 
test-based email clients do not arbitrarily eat whitespace.

I'd find it interesting to see how many Python programmers have resorted 
to the addition of "endif" and "endfor" into their code for transfer by 
email. I'll bet Mike is in a very "special" group in that regard.

By the way, let me mention an important benefit of the Python 
indentation rules: they greatly enhance readability. Unlike other 
languages, when you read Python code you can be sure the indentation is 
consistent with the logical structure and is therefore not misleading you.

> That's not a complicated notion or a complicated or controversial 
> statement.
> 
> Russ continues:
> 
> By the way, I had no problem with the indentation in the code Mike
> emailed to me.
> 
> I reply:
> 
> That's nice, and of course there was the possibility that you wouldn't. 
> But there was also the possibility that the indentations would arrive 
> scrambled, and that's why I added the "endif" and "endfor".

Mike is clueless as to why an email client might modify whitespace. But 
that shouldn't be too surprising, considering that he has no clue as to 
how to change his email "from" line. That's too advanced for Mike. 
Understanding the world around him is obviously not one of Mike's strong 
suits. I can't even imagine what it must be like to be *that* uneducated.