On Sat, Aug 19, 2000 at 09:51:47PM -0500, Scott G. Miller wrote:
> > Content type is optional. But you need it to determine what to do with the
> > data. Most clients are going to launch a content-type specific module or
> > viewer/player program determined by the content type. If data doesn't have
> > a content type field then the best the client can do is save it to disk or
> > display it as a text file.
> You're not thinking outside the box Brandon.  There will be applications
> on Freenet that do not use the standard clients in order to perform a
> useful function.  Freenet-news is a good example.  There, it would be way
> more logical to use the standard email header format.

Actually, fnnews uses an FNP style header format.

> > It's about as difficult in both schemes. In your scheme the client checks
> > the length of the data. If it's 0, then metadata is in FNP. Otherwise it's
> > in some unknown format. In my scheme it checks the Metadata-format field
> > to see what format the metadata is in and handles it appropriately if it
> > can knows how to handle that format.
> But having a metadata format storable is unnecessary, and probably too
> revealing about the nature of the data.
> 
> > 
> > I don't see how whether the metadata is in FNP or XML format is a security
> > concern.
> > 
> It reveals information about the nature of the data section.  If there is
> a metadata form that is very specific to a certain application, then
> traffic analysis to track that application is easier.

All it tells about the content of the metadata is whether it is FNP or
XML.  You have to be *really* paranoid to consider this a security
hole.  I just consider this unnecessary.

-- 
Travis Bemann
Sendmail is still screwed up on my box.
My email address is really bemann at execpc.com.
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