ietf-822
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Re: Is Accept-language an email header field?

2004-04-08 09:12:33

In 
<5(_dot_)1(_dot_)0(_dot_)14(_dot_)2(_dot_)20040407112824(_dot_)030442a0(_at_)127(_dot_)0(_dot_)0(_dot_)1>
 Graham Klyne <GK-lists(_at_)ninebynine(_dot_)org> writes:

This header field [[[Accept-language]]] is commonly used in email, but some 
problems have been noted, including but not limited to:  determination of 
the email address to which it refers;  use of different field names names 
by some mail agents for the same purpose;  lack of consistent recognition 
and use by receiving agents;  cost and lack of effective 
internationalization of email responses;  problems with interpretation of 
language subtags;  problems determining what character set encoding should 
be used (UTF-8 is not universally supported).
]]

I would remove the mention of different field names. The main purpose of
the Registry AISI is to discourage unnecessary proliferation of lots of
headers all doing the same thing. So whichever the registry endorses, that
effectively causes the others to be deprecated.

As to the problems in determining the address to which it refers (I
presume that particular issue does not arise in its HTTP usage), either it
is too severe a problem, in which case the proper procedure is for someone
to write a standards-track proposal, possibly introducing some additional
syntax; or else it is OK as it stands, in which case it should be
registered. If someone does produce such a draft, then of course it could be
registered in the provisional registry.

-- 
Charles H. Lindsey ---------At Home, doing my own thing------------------------
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CHEADLE, SK8 3JU, U.K.
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