ietf-822
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Re: Let us finish RFC-XXXX NOW! (Re: non-ascii headers)

1991-09-26 23:44:58
 Citat ur brev fr}n:  Mark Crispin <MRC(_at_)panda(_dot_)com>

I think there is a reasonable compromise available:

      Until such time as a mechanism for the specification of character
      sets other than US-ASCII is established, the follow rule applies
      to the character set of message headers:

      Message headers MUST be in US-ASCII, with the exception of the
      text of a Subject: or Comment: header.  The text of a Subject:
      or Comment: header is unparsed in its entire content, and MAY
      be in an alternate character set provided that that alternate
      character set otherwise follows the characteristics of US-ASCII
      (that is, merely assigning different glyphs in the 0x21 - 0x7E
      space, 7-bit, no conflicting use of 0x0C and 0x0A, etc.)

...things deleted

This however is merely `good form' and should not be presented as any kind of
requirement (particularly the part about using English).  There is no reason
why a domestic Swedish message with no foreign distribution should have to
abide> by it.

-- Mark --

This is not an acceptable compromize. First, we can not force all
users to use English in a header when the user is allowed to use
swedish in the body. Second the user can not have any idea of where
the mail is going to end. How about mailinglists? I can think of
several users that don't know if he is sending to an address abroad.
Then the only rule must be to NEVER use other character sets in the
header than US-ASCII. The only solution must then be to force users to
accept different character sets in the body and the header.

For us in sweden as an example, we use our three native characters
adiaeresis, aring, odiaeresis in as much as every third word. Why are
you americans, which might think that the diaeresis over the 'o' is
only an umlaut, formly running us over? Why do you think we bother at
all in this discussion about character sets? It might have to be that
we, "only" 8 million people in sweden, NEVER have been able to use our
own language when communicating over computer networks! We now see our
chance, so don't try stopping us!

In an early discussion with Phil Gross (IETF) I and Johnny Eriksson
started all this discussion at the NORDUnet-ETF, fall 1990. It was our
hope that we could find a solution that filled up all needs, so why stop,
giving up the header, now when we are so close?

We rather wait a couple of months more than seeing an RFC that we
absolutely can not accept.

Once again...please

        With regards
                        Patrik

==============================================================================
Patrik F{ltstr|m                        Internet: 
paf(_at_)nada(_dot_)kth(_dot_)se
Department of Numerical Analysis        BITNET:   paf(_at_)sekth
  and Computing Science                 Phone: +46-8-7906274
Royal Institute of Technology           Fax:   +46-8-7900930
S-100 44 Stockholm
Sweden