[OT] Charset encoding was Re: Can't connect to port 25 from another system

[Ed Greshko]

Tim wrote:

> Oh really?  Millions of MSOE users using clients that don't handle
> UTF-anything, outnumbering users using other clients that do, suggests
> that sending Unicode mail to them would be a problem.

If they can't handle UTF-Anything...then UTF-7 wouldn't be much good
would it?  Besides UTF-8≠Unicode.

FWIW, the current version of MSOE handles UTF-7 and UTF-8 just fine.  It
also has selections for other encodings...some of which would require
either 8-bit transport or base64 encoding

>>> A point in case about not identifying content properly; many of the Red
>>> Hat / Fedora announcement list messages do not have headers stating the
>>> content encoding, and the pages have strange characters splattered
>>> through them as the content isn't the same as my mail client's default
>>> (use when guessing) settings.  Such messages going through systems that
>>> translate are prime candidates for further mangling.  Changing my
>>> default encoding is no answer either, because the same problem will
>>> occur with some other unidentified message content that's not encoded
>>> the same way.
> 
>> You are mixing issues.
> 
> With what?  It's the same encoding / different encoding / not identified
> encoding problem, just a practical example.  I'm sure some people have
> kept copies of those messages, and a little bit of hunting around will
> find a broken one that doesn't display correctly in their mail client.
> I can find messages sent as UTF-8, but with no declaration, so the mail
> client either presumes that they're ASCII, or uses its default (which
> may be ISO-8859-1), and the result is mangled mail.

The fact that a message was sent improperly means only that.  If I send
you an email that is encoded as EUC-JP and don't identify it or
mis-identity it you will not be able to display it properly unless you
make a guess.  So, what?  All it proves is you have a poor client.

>> You are right about one thing...  Someone's email client didn't display
>> a message properly.  BUT, it wasn't the problem of the sender...it is
>> the problem of the receiver.  The sender need not change anything.
> 
> I'd say yes, now.  But several years ago I'd suggest the opposite (that
> it being worth presetting a client to post in a particular manner).  And
> even now, it can be a problem on usenet.

If everyone did that then we would not be where we are today.


-- 
Om began to feel the acute depression that steals over every realist
in the presence of an optimist.
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