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Re: [ietf-822] Fwd: New Version Notification for draft-crocker-inreply-react-01.txt

2020-10-07 09:44:45

OLD:

    Fully interoperable email uses 7-bit ASCII, although some email     
           handling paths directly support 8-bit ASCII.  Emoji characters are   
           drawn from the space outside of 7-bit ASCII.  For email handling     
           paths that are 8-bit clean, the an emoji character does not need     
           special encoding.  If the path from author to recipients is not 
known        
           to be 8-bit clean, The emoji character SHOULD be encoded using       
           [MIMEencode].

NEW:

      Emoji and any other code points outside the ASCII range MUST be encoded
      using [MIMEencode], unless the message is Internationalized [RFC6532].



This thread is prompting a meta-thought. The thought is mostly driven by the need for simplicity, especially across multiple specifications. The specific directive applicable here is that normative redundancy is bad.

That is:

A specification which is only providing usage detail, within an established context, rather than providing new context rules, SHOULD NOT make additional normative declarations, within that context. Normative language is needed only if the new specification is /changing/ that context.

Addition of normative declarations that merely replicate established normative declarations invites errors.



Consequently, I'll now suggest this wording, for this specification:


Fully interoperable email uses 7-bit ASCII, although some email handling paths directly support 8-bit ASCII. Emoji characters are drawn from the space outside of 7-bit ASCII. [IntHdr] covers data encoding for email header fields, along handling paths that are known to be 8-bit clean. [MIMEencode] covers encoding for paths that are not known to be 8-bit clean.



d/

--
Dave Crocker
Brandenburg InternetWorking
bbiw.net

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