From: Erland Sommarskog (sommar@algonet.se)
Date: Sat Oct 21 2000 - 13:21:36 CDT
John Stanley <stanley@peak.org> writes:
> I expect that mail software will also nicely display other headers when
> they become of interest and defined. And if not, I press "v" or "h" and it
> shows all the headers to me. Some "head over heels" requirement, no?
>...
> Do you see the error in making the "my mailer does this" argument
> regarding headers?
You press "v" or "h". When I use mailx, I use "P". Great. But in a
mailer like Outlook Express, you have to select Properties and then
press some more buttons before you see it. And yo may think that
Outlook Express is a shitty mailer, but a lot of people use it.
And if your secretary printed the mail for you, you don't have any
keys to press at all.
> I learned quite a bit about "interoperability" from that discussion.
> Interoperability is not about what makes things break or allows them to
> work, it is about anything that makes life convenient for anyone at some
> time in their life. Having an invalid From header in news doesn't break
> news in any way, it just makes it less convenient for someone to contact
> the poster in email.
As long as the From line cannot result in a third person not getting
the mail. You wouldn't like me to post a lot of stupid shit as
stanley@peak.org.invalid, would you?
> Every person who was arguing with me about MUST for the From: header
> should now be on my side when I say MUST for this header.
Only if they share your view on what's convenient. Since it is not
my interest that you drop the mail I might send you on the floor,
but it is in my interest of my convenience that people clearly see
that they are reading a copy of a newsgroups message.
-- Erland Sommarskog, Stockholm, sommar@algonet.se