Re: Content-Canonicalization: crlf?

I guess I don't see the situation as being quite to grim.

There are two (at least) requirements for text/*.  1) that it be human readable.  2) that it have CRLF line endings.

As a consequece of 2, I would expect data of type text/* to be converted to local text format by default, without any prior knowledge of the type.  (Many systems do have just one local format for text, unlike VMS.  :-))

However, suppose I have some data that would benefit from newline conversion, but is not intendend for human eyes.  (Laurence gave the example of a script file.)  It can't go under text/* because of requirement 1.  But now, as application/foo, I have to hope that all my recipients to have application/foo entered into their mailcap files, so that they'll know to convert the newlines.

If, as the sender, I could say "Even though this data isn't human readable, it is otherwise text", then I would be protected against the recipient's possibly brain-dead mailcap.

Yes, this is redundant information.  Yes, it doesn't generalize to other canonicalizations.  Yes, it is a special case.  I think it's such a common case as to be useful nonetheless.

However, unless somebody else agrees with me, I'll shut up now.  :-)

>Anyhow, if this is to be persued as anything other than a mailcap option to
>be applied to a type as a whole, I think it's best done as an option to the
>display disposition.

That's an interesting twist.  Hmmm.

>I never cease to be amazed at the incredible variety of behaviors users
>want to see agents manifest.

There we agree completely.  :-)
-- 
Steve Dorner, Qualcomm Incorporated
"I seem to recall a time before consultants roamed the earth. ... The people
you'd meet would have actual jobs."