Is this kind of condescending, elitist remark destroying one of the few last redeeming qualities of email? That everyone can talk to everyone else outside of walled gardens?

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of plaintext email (and use mutt at work) but it's not practical to expect the world to bend to your own narrow choices in technology so harshly. The attitude displayed here is, quite frankly, disgusting.