Stop Sending Me Your Errors
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A developer rants about the widespread misuse of the `multipart/alternative` MIME type in email. The RFC specifies that `multipart/alternative` should contain interchangeable representations of the same content, but many email systems abuse the `text/plain` part to send error messages like 'Plain text version not available' instead of actual plain text content. This breaks the experience for users who prefer plain text email, and the post walks through three scenarios showing how this hurts recipients in every case. Real-world examples of broken plain text parts are shared, including raw HTML entities, CSS snippets, and blank lines. The fix is simple: if you can't generate a proper plain text version, just don't include one.
