[EMAIL PROTECTED], whose name I remember as Tommi Thompson, wrote,
| 1. Which RFC describes digests---standards for message separators,
| end of file, etc? Where can I find it, on the web?
Gosh, it's around #1311 or thereabouts ... are the RFCs indexed somewhere?
I remember reading it, deciding its recommended format was too cluttered,
and going for the more open, easier to read look I wanted. So far all
bursters have been happy with my digest layout.
| 2. Any idea why a plain ascii text message with no signature,
| no lines of hyphens or any other character, would truncate
| our list digests, on some subscribers' email systems?
| Every message this subscriber writes, triggers this phenomenon.
| Only her messages trigger it.
| The majority of subscribers receive "whole" digests, even with
| her message. Those of us whose digests are truncated use
| different email clients (Eudora Pro, Netscape Navigator 3.04)
| on different ISPs (AT&T, Best.com, NetWiz.net). For us, the
| digest ends at the end of her message. All messages after hers,
| are missing. No list footers, either, of course.
| The digest truncation occurred following her posts on two lists
| using different list automation software, on different provider
| hosts.
Tommi, have you ever seen the rest of an issue after her post? You see,
I cannot tell whether the sample you attached includes the part that is
normally truncated or not.
| Typical message below, in case that helps...
| From: C Anonymous <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
| Received: from canonymous (van-bc10-28.netcom.ca [207.181.73.220])
| by tor-smtp1.netcom.ca (8.8.5/NETCOM) id RAA05482;
| Thu, 26 Aug 1998 17:45:42 -0500 (EST)
| Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
| X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.4 (32)
| Subject: sponsorship list
| X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
| Date: Tue, 6 Jan 98 22:50:53 +0000
| Mime-Version: 1.0
| Content-Type: Text/Plain; charset="us-ascii"
| X-Mozilla-Status: 0001
| Content-Length: 1503
Well, we're already in trouble, because that's the format Tommi's mailer
shows, already altered from mbox format ... no From_ for example (and maybe
there shouldn't be), and look at those indentations.
| From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
| Subject: STEP 10
| Date: Fri, 10 Oct 1997 12:52:01 -0400 (EDT)
| MIME-Version: 1.0
| Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
|
| Hi Everyone,
|
| Step 10 is a way to continue to grow and take responsiblity...
| <snip>
| ...the screwdriver is. What can I say I'm a work in progress.
|
| Love & Hugs,
| Carol
I wonder if Carol puts a lone period under her name in her .signature, and
somewhere along the line is an MTA not using -oi. Or maybe she uses a row of
asterisks, which is the official end-of-digest marker. When someone submits
a row of hyphens or a row of asterisks in a post to my list, I change the
second hyphen to an equal sign or the second asterisk to a plus sign. In
most people's fonts the change is very unobtrusive (nobody has every
mentioned it to me on three lists where I've done it) and it prevents digest
bursters and such from mistaking the text for an article separator or a
digest terminator.
I know Tommi said that Carol's articles have no row of any repeated
character, but I'm not sure if she has ever seen the whole of one, since she
said "those of *us* [emphasis mine] whose digests are truncated." But then
the asterisks would be retained and whatever came after the asterisks would
be dropped, so it isn't a row of asterisks.
Tommi, can you send the REST (or at least the next few lines), the part that
is cut off after Carol's posts? That would tell us more.
Based on what I know so far, my best suggestion is for the list administrator
to put in a special routine for Carol's posts to indent their bodies one
column. I'd have to guess that a single space between the left margin and
whatever is poisonous in her posts would be the appropriate antivenin.
