For people who are sending email with no HTML features it seems weird to inflate that email with unused unseen cruft.
Many people send email that makes minimal use of HTML features. They perhaps have an auto-appended footer with useless information that is in italics. It's debatable whether the extra size of HTML email is worth it for such minor formatting.
But no one is suggesting that the tiny number of people who "prefer the extra formatting and layout that a well-constructed HTML email can provide" should use plain text emails.
> This can be observed in general by the fact that almost everyone uses web browsers like Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome - rather than Lynx.
No. Poor quality design has meant that much of the modern web is unusable for many web browsers. Not just "specialist" browser such as Lynx but for some versions of the browsers you list.
For people who are sending email with no HTML features it seems weird to inflate that email with unused unseen cruft.
Many people send email that makes minimal use of HTML features. They perhaps have an auto-appended footer with useless information that is in italics. It's debatable whether the extra size of HTML email is worth it for such minor formatting.
But no one is suggesting that the tiny number of people who "prefer the extra formatting and layout that a well-constructed HTML email can provide" should use plain text emails.
> This can be observed in general by the fact that almost everyone uses web browsers like Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome - rather than Lynx.
No. Poor quality design has meant that much of the modern web is unusable for many web browsers. Not just "specialist" browser such as Lynx but for some versions of the browsers you list.