Thursday, January 13, 2000, 7:37:38 AM, Nick wrote:
> I agree with you to some extent Steve, but I find your response puzzling, as
> you seem to be one that strongly professes the use of Internet Standards.
Yup.
> In researching the subject a little, I find that RFC 2368 (at least my
> understanding of it) refers to the MailTo: syntax as one of the standards
> for E-Mail addresses, so it would appear, on the surface anyway, that only
> Outlook and Eudora conform to that Standard.
That is a definition of the mailto: URL. URL's are a product of the WWW,
not email. See many rants here about webifying (HTMLized) email.
> Just to qualify my "agree with you to some extent" statement, you use
> adjectives that puts a different slant on your writings.
Nah, puts the slant I want on it. ;)
> For instance, I don't necessarily agree that putting Mailto: on an address
> _mangles_ the signature, but obviously it's easier and much cleaner looking
> if we don't have to. Lastly, why do you refer to both Outlook and Eudora as
> having "inadequacies" in this respect, when they are only conforming to a
> Standard by requiring the inclusion of the MailTo: URL?
Because that standard of "requiring" the mailto: isn't requiring anything.
It is simply a definition of a URL and how it can be used to include greater
functionality. By requiring the inclusion of the URL marker they are doing
nothing more than ignoring the other, more wildly held convention of allowing
a user to double click on a string which matches a basic pattern for email
([\w\.]@[\w\.]\.\w) to send mail.
So requiring, for example, me to write [EMAIL PROTECTED] as
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED], is a bad thing because it breaks convention.
OTOH, not requiring someone to use mailto if other headers are specified in
the URL would be breaking standard.
> I wish all Programs would either adhere to a Standard, or change an existing
> one... hopefully to one that would NOT require the use of MailTo: to
> designate a linked address.
I'd prefer that they adhere to the standard and not eschew convention at
the same time.
--
Steve C. Lamb | I'm your priest, I'm your shrink, I'm your
ICQ: 5107343 | main connection to the switchboard of souls.
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