Thus spake Russell Nelson on Fri, May 19, 2000 at 01:22:36PM CDT
>
> I would point out to the author of the spec that it is requiring that
> messages be mangled when received on Unix systems.
I'm sure the IETF process permits such input.
> Also, the patch is there on www.qmail.org, if it bothers you overmuch.
Thanks, Russ. The 'fix' is fairly trivial and I've already done it, and in
fact routinely do it for qmail installs I do. In real-world terms, it costs
more in tech support time to deal with complaints and problems resulting
from rejection of non-compliant email than it does to deal with problems
arising from accepting it.
My purpose here was to inquire regarding what appears to be a conflict
between qmail and an emerging standard. If the draft I referenced becomes
an RFC, then, whether we like it or not, qmail will apparently be out of
compliance with accepted specifications for email in this regard. RFCs are,
after all, the final authority for what is and is not appropriate technical
behavior on the Internet, and departure from these standards shouldn't be
done lightly. As you're well aware, Microsoft and others have played fast
and loose with standards compliance, to the general detriment of the
Internet.
I'm not close enough to the qmail development and maintenance community to
do this, but perhaps it would be appropriate for you or Dan or someone else
who can deal with this issue knowledgably to provide some input into the
IETF standards process on this before the draft becomes an RFC.
Please note that I'm in general agreement with your position on this, and
question the wisdom of establishing a dual standard for originating and
receiving email, but this is indeed what the draft proposes. This is as
much as anything a head's up to you and others regarding the issue.
--
Lindsay Haisley | "Everything works | PGP public key
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