PINE
Since webmail is inexcusably slow here at the university where I'm doing research these days, I check my email with PINE, using the PuTTy telnet client. HTML-formatted emails come through as fairly crap, but I can save attachments to the file server with three keystrokes.

I also keep in touch with friends by writing letters. With a fountain pen and postage stamps. If I'm lucky I get one letter back for every ten I write, but it's better than nothing.
(norumbegan, Thu 4 Nov 2010, 22:39, 4 replies)

Hear Here
To the letter writeing! I have much the same strike rate :)
( jakedamusss I understand, and dont care., Fri 5 Nov 2010, 1:36, closed)

Handy rule of thumb:
If you receive an e-mail in HTML it's a dead giveaway that the sender is someone of no consequence. You may safely delete any such e-mails, secure in the knowledge that the sender does not deserve any more of your time than that taken to delete those e-mails.
( flake has nothing against your right leg, Fri 5 Nov 2010, 2:13, closed)

Pine
Pine Is Not Elm.
(Maclir, Fri 5 Nov 2010, 13:15, closed)

Might I suggest
mutt, if you've any say over the shell account? You can spawn off a lynx session to read html mail, which is fairly good at getting to the meat & potatoes of anything you happen to receive wrapped in HTML.
(mymilkshakebringsallthemongstotheyard poison hearts, poison minds - joining hate, Fri 5 Nov 2010, 18:32, closed)