There are so many ways people access email that there is no one-size-fits-all answer to broken URL links.  The solution is specific to the operating system and email program in use.  PC/Laptop specifics won’t apply to Tablet users.  Ditto, smartphone users.  But, the general technique is universal.

In Apple OS X with Apple Mail, when I’m drafting an email, I copy the target URL from the browser URL address line to the clipboard  Then, instead of simply pasting that URL into the text of the email, I use the Mac email program's function to "add a hyperlink" or "add link."  That option is on the <edit> dropdown in Apple Mail.  Outlook or Windows Mail probably has some similar capability.  The mail program has to be in Rich Text Format, and most default to RTF mode these days.  Text auto-converters (RTF to plain text) recognize long hyperlinks and maintain them even if broken across multiple lines for display.

If you use web-based email editors, like native gmail, yahoo mail or hotmail, you’ll have to figure out the mechanics of the above for your particular emailer's interface.  DuckDuckGo it: I guarantee there’s a solution out there for everyone.

If you encounter a broken URL in an email or post, it’s very easy to manage manually.  What I did with Al’s links was to copy the links into my text editor, then manually delete the Carriage Return/Line Feed (CR/LF) character that caused the broken URL in the first place, then I copy the corrected URL to the clipboard, and finally paste it into the browser.  If you had this problem with Al’s original links, practice the above with them.  Once you get it, it’ll work forever.  A couple of “extra” steps, yes, but works fine.

I find tinyurl OK for information that is of short term interest.  It’s not especially good for a list like T&T.  Tinyurl links disappear into the mist over time, so tinyurls in a post in an archive will probably not work weeks/months/years later.  Yes, URLs also go away over time, but you have a better chance with real URLs.

Jim

Peg and Jim Healy aboard Sanctuary, southbound in Georgetown, SC
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Sorry for continuing the non-boating thread, but I would also suggest:

If one used TinyURL (or the like) to make non-broken URLs, ALSO paste in the original long URL.  Even if it does get broken it can always be reassembled; and by doing so it gives folks an idea where the tinyURL will take them.

Plus overcomes the issue Bob pointed out, if tinyURL goes away :-)

Viking Star
45' Monk Sr. / McQueen
mvVikingStar.blogspot.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Bob McLeran (T&T List Administrator) via Trawlers-and-Trawlering

I don't want to drag out this non-boating subject that does relate to the use of the list, but Jim's comment relative to the life of a tinyurl is mostly accurate, if a bit pessimistic. The tinyurl web site states:
"By entering in a URL in the text field below, we will create a tiny URL that will not break in email postings and never expires." However, we all must realize that nothing lasts forever; even a list may disappear over time, so there's no guarantee that anything written here or on any other list will exist tomorrow, the next day or the next year.

Conventional wisdom suggests that as long as Tinyurl.com exists, so will the tinyurls created by that site.

Be that as it may, using a URL-shortener such as Tinyurl or bitly (there are undoubtedly others) is a sure-fire way of beating all the problems involved with quoting a lengthy URL in an email and have it remain an unbroken link for all users without regard to the type of email client and server they are using (for whatever length of time the shortened URLs may exist).

Keep on trawlering!

Bob McLeran
T&T List Administrator