Re: Whether 8-bit SMTP? And how?

[moore@xxxxxxxxxx]

> To: ietf-smtp@dimacs.rutgers.edu
> From: Robert Ullmann  <ARIEL@relay.prime.com>
> Date: Tue, 26 Feb 91 11:36:28 EST
> 
> 
> Which is why I contend that the "best" thing for a mailer to do
> with an 8-bit message is just send it anyway, and thus the negotiation
> is not useful.

On the contrary, the negotiation is very useful.  Say you are a mail
system administrator and you are trying to track down a particular host
that is doing 8-bit stripping or otherwise munging a mail message. 
Without the negotation, there is no way for the sender-SMTP to leave a
clue as to where the message got munged.

I also wanted the negotiation to give the receiver-SMTP a chance to say in
no uncertain terms, "do NOT send me 8-bit data", in case the system can
only handle ASCII.

I think it's dangerous to assume that negotiation of 8-bit capability is
unnecessary or not useful.  We may yet find reasons for it that are not
immediately apparent.

Keith Moore