% The IETF meeting in Copenhagen concluded that we should do 8<->7 bit
% conversion and this was not considered a transformation, as long as all
% the information was preserved.
I wasn't there and would have argued against that interpretation
had I been there. How about other folks ?
i would have been for it. i don't want a new port number. i don't want
local enclaves. i want a straightforward, 1-to-1 mapping between 7 and
8 bits which is machine-detectable on the 7-bit end and which is mostly
readable if undetected all the way out to the recipient's display. i
want all smtp clients which support 8-bit transport to be able to do the
8->7 conversion if they hand off to a non-EVFY-speaking server. this
allows the new functionality to be added to any client or server without
disrupting the net if it's the last client or server ever to be upgraded,
while permitting transparently smooth operation if all clients and servers
in any end-to-end path support the new protocol.
what is wrong with doing it this way?