I get similar questions from list owners on a regular basis, and I advise
them to stick to ascii text, unless they are absolutely certain that each
and every subscriber on the list is using email software which is capable
of handling fancy fonts, cutesy colors, and gaudy graphics.

Our lists are populated with people using a wide variety of email client
software (Eudora, Pine, Outlook Express, Netscape Messenger, who knows what
else) on several OS platforms (Mac, Windows 95/98/NT/2000, Solaris, Linux,
who knows what else). Some clients can handle the latest "gee whiz, doesn't
that make your eyes pop" features; others are WYSIWYG-challenged. Some of
the folks who use text-only mail readers "just hit delete" when they come
across an HTML-ized message in their mailbox. It's not that they can't read
HTML source code, it's just that they'd rather not have to wade through it
unnecessarily.

Bottom line: If you want people to get your message, don't make it hard for
them to find your message.

--
Paul Russell
Senior Systems Administrator
University of Notre Dame