OPIM is a creator, not a type. The semantics of creators are quite different
from the semantics of file types (which are likewise quite different than
file extensions).
The reason the TEXT designation is ambiguous is that it tells you absolutely
nothing about the contents of the file, and hence, cannot be used to
identify applications that could handle the contents, nor can applications
use it to distinguish if this is an interesting file at the current point of
operation (e.g., when displaying files in file open dialogs).
If the file was completely unstructured, such that only a person could
understand its contents, then maybe a TEXT type would be appropriate.
However, and mbox file is definitely structured and machine readable.
Therefore it should have a file type - in this case MBOX - reflecting the
true nature of the file. Eudora's designers failure to be intelligent about
importing messages is no reason that other applications' designers should
also be stupid.
on 01.9.18 10:50 AM, William Porter at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> On 9/18/01 at 9:57 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Eric Hildum) wrote:
>
>> Actually, I would consider Entourage to be more in conformity with standards
>> and practice than Eudora in this case. Having/requiring a file with an
>> ambiguous file type (TEXT) as Eudora does is not consistent with the
>> expected Macintosh user experience.
>
> Eric,
>
> There are lots of things about Eudora that I would agree are "not consistent
> with the expected Macintosh user experience," but the fact that it stores its
> mailboxes as text files does not seem to be one of them. I do not understand
> what's "ambiguous" about the file type TEXT, and it has the advantage of being
> non-proprietary, unlike OPIM.
>
> I'm a database developer. The programming resources that make my applications
> work belong to me and I protect them as jealously as I can. But the data that
> my
> users put into my applications belongs to them, and I work hard to make it as
> easy for them to get it out as possible. It's certainly easy to drag a mailbox
> to the desktop, but if you can't do anything with it then without opening
> ResEdit, well, what's the point?
--
Eric Hildum
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