>(Is 7-bit really the standard? Cool! But I won't believe it Anything that sends plain ascii text is 7 bit, because ascii text is 7 bit.
So email is 7 bit, part of http is 7 bit (there is also part for 8 bit file transfers for things like graphics). Anything telnet is 7 bit. ALL email clients are 7 bit, because POP and SMTP and IMAP are 7 bit. That is why file encoding has to happen with attachments. You have to convert the 8 bit file into 7 bit ascii text (that is also why, if you notice when you send or receive an attachment, the attachment is reported as being larger then the actual file is when the transfer is complete... because the encoded data is larger). A good chunk of the internet is 7 bit, some with 8 bit add ons. That is because the internet predates all the applications being used that could have dealt with 8 bit directly. Everything used to pretty much be telnet based. You logged in with a terminal, and typed out everything you wanted to do. Things like FTP had 8 bit add ons specifically to deal with file transfers (FTP actually runs over two different ports. One for commands, which is 7 bit, and a 2nd that is opened for file transfers and supports 8 bit). -chris <http://www.mythtech.net> ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe send a mail message with a SUBJECT line of "unsubscribe" to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> or <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
