I think that the problems with the Encoded-Variable header may be
slightly exagerated. Recall that the encoding only happens in two
places: comments and route-phrases. In each case, you can use double
quotes to encapsulate virtually anything that doesn't include double
quotes, and you can use the \22 hex code notation for embedded double
quotes.
The problem with the "Header-type" solution is that you might have
multiple header fields in this boat, using different character sets, and
how do you associate the right "Header-type" with the right other header
field?
Finally, I stand corrected on Keld's name. I had assumed that the | was
actually an 8 bit character. It still makes an interesting example,
though, if we can do it right. Even better would be if someone has an
example that really does use an 8-bit value. Any takers? -- Nathaniel