On 28 Jun 99, at 23:36, Bo Bjulen wrote:
> *** Paul Hoffman / IMC:
>
> >Before you go thwacking messages with long lines, you should read
> ><http://www.imc.org/draft-gellens-format>. I believe that this has
> >(or is about to be) an IETF standard. In essence, it says that long
> >lines are not only acceptable, but (when labelled) a Good Thing.
>
> Using this format they are a Good Thing since messages are not *sent*
> with long lines.
Ah, a sematic usage which I guessed I missed... where you use the term
"long line" I guess I use the term "paragraph" so I misunderstood...
> .. Receiving MTAs which understands the format will
> unwrap the messages but all others will see it as word wrapped.
Yes, it is an excellent spec, IMO! There are two important things which
it very neatly deals with, clever stuff all: allowing folk who want to
"flow" text on their own to get along with folk who want to display it
directly; and second [an important one not to be missed [even though MS
managed to]] that the spec _has_ to cleanly embrace embedded text that
cannot/shouldnot be flowed, no matter _what_ the reader wants to do,
[e.g., intentionally long lines (as from Unix log files, which I seem to
get too many of via email..:o), preformatted tables, other forms of
degererate "ascii art" :o)]
Kudos!
[now if the HTML-likers can come up with as reasonable, well thought
through and accommodating a spec, I might even not be one of the luddite
anti-html'ers.]
/Bernie\
--
Bernie Cosell Fantasy Farm Fibers
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Pearisburg, VA
--> Too many people, too few sheep <--
