... my Safari doesn't usually play animated GIFs either. It happens a lot on popular sites, like Craigslist.org. I love Safari but it really needs an update.
Although Jaguar and Panther Mail renders HTML received, they do not support composing HTML which also includes when forwarding a message received that was composed in HTML including animated gifs.
Although you cannot compose complex HTML within the body of a message with Tiger Mail, RTF with Tiger Mail is HTML and supports forwarding a message received that was composed in HTML including animated gifs.
Reason for this: if you automatically render all HTML received (with any email client with OS X) and a spammer uses HTML for message composition and includes embedded images or objects that must be rendered from a remote server, if the Mail.app Junk Mail filter does not automatically mark the message as junk and you open the message, this can reveal that your email address is valid to the spammer causing more spam to be received.
Copied from Why HTML in E-Mail is a Bad Idea:
"Because it introduces accessibility problems. When you write in plain text, the receiving mail client renders the text in whatever font the reader chooses. When you format email with HTML, the sender controls the formatting. But this is a trap: You only think your message will render the same way to the viewer as it appears to the sender. In reality, the receiver can end up squinting because the font looks so tiny, or vice versa. HTML is not rendered the same way from one viewing client to the next - all guarantee of accessiblity goes out the window. This is especially problematic for visually impaired persons."
Because it can introduce security issues and trojan horses -- it's a gateway to danger as any Outlook user can tell you. HTML can include any number of scripts, dangerous links, controls, etc.
I just updated from Tiger 10.4.5 to 10.4.6, and it seems they have fixed most of the animated gif problem in Safari. However the gifs are still jerky, and not nearly as smooth as in Explorer 5.2.3 for OS X.
