ietf-openpgp
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Re: Armour

1997-11-21 16:07:00
At 01:27 PM 11/21/97 -0800, Dave Crocker / IMC wrote:
   One more time, folks:  If you are using the absence of MIME from some
   current usage of email then you are using a fundamentally flawed argument.
   MIME is being adopted.  The rate of adoption (i.e., growth in use) is
   proceeding nicely.  We are not early in the process, so the assessment does
   not represent fantasy.
   
One more time: PGP is not limited to email. I agree wholeheartedly that in
the long-term, MIME is the answer for email and related technologies. PGP
can be used for other technologies too.

In the OpenPGP working group, we are working on a suite of documents. One
of them is OP-FORMATS. One is OP-MIME. I think it is right and proper to
encourage the use of MIME with email. I do not think it is at all proper to
saddle a pager network, an electronic commerce system, or other legitimate
uses of OpenPGP with MIME handling, when all they want to do is move a
secure block of data around.

At the BOF for the working group, our area director described PGP as an
"object encryption system" -- a term I've been using ever since, because I
think it's a good description of what PGP is. One of the important uses of
PGP is email encryption, but that is not the only use for it.

The place to solve the PEM/MOSS problem is the OP-MIME spec. Here, I have
no problems with a statement saying when someone SHOULD use MIME, and I'd
love to discuss that.

The only thing that I, Rodney, Bill Geiger, and others are objecting to is
pushing MIME into places where it is not needed nor wanted. If this stops
being a "there can be only one" type of discussion, I think you'll find us
being more cooperative. I'd love to see some suggestions on how to word
such a paragraph.

        Jon



-----
Jon Callas                                  jon(_at_)pgp(_dot_)com
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