On 12/6/02 10:06 AM, "Peter C.S. Adams" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> Well, it's not just a guideline. Many (if not most) mail servers will break >> lines for you, even if your mail client doesn't. > > This may have been the case at one time, but such servers that still exist > are badly broken. The relevant RFCs are quite clear on this. > > According to RFC2821 <http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2821.txt>: > > The maximum total length of a text line including the <CRLF> is > 1000 characters (not counting the leading dot duplicated for > transparency). This number may be increased by the use of SMTP > Service Extensions.
Actually, they aren't "badly broken." RFC 2821 is (in practice) superseded by RFC 2822, which states that although 998 characters is the de jure "maximum" line length, 78 characters is the de facto maximum line length: RFC 2822 2.1.1. Line Length Limits There are two limits that this standard places on the number of characters in a line. Each line of characters MUST be no more than 998 characters, and SHOULD be no more than 78 characters, excluding the CRLF. It also states that mail servers or clients that purposely break lines are only considered non-conformant with RFC 2821 if the breaking of lines actually causes information to be lost. If they simply break lines at 78 characters or less, they are actually conforming to RFC 2822. -- To unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> archives: <http://www.mail-archive.com/entourage-talk%40lists.letterrip.com/> old-archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/entourage-talk%40lists.boingo.com/>
