On Mon, 10 Jan 2005, D. J. Bernstein wrote:
Is the message size part of the envelope? Your ``precise definition''
gives a wishy-washy answer. Sometimes SMTP clients put the size on the
MAIL line; sometimes they don't. It doesn't make sense for this minor
transport detail to dictate our terminology.
Even worse is the ESMTP CHUNKING extension. There are lots of ways
that the envelope can become more complicated than just 821-style MAIL
FROM and RCPT TO commands, but the basic distinction between SMTP commands
(i.e. envelope) and message data (i.e. header and body) remains. I don't
claim that this is a perfect definition, but it is at least the one that
people have been using for more than 15 years.
What I'm saying is that your whole approach to the question is broken.
You're wildly exaggerating the importance of certain syntax decisions in
one protocol---decisions that could clearly have been changed with no
serious effect.
I'm arguing more from the point of view of English usage (or jargon usage)
than from the point of view of protocol design. However from the point of
view of protocol design I claim that the muddling of transport fields and
user fields in Internet email *has* had a serious effect: the semantics of
the message header are patchily specified and widely abused.
This document is supposed to be a description of the architecture of
Internet email, not email in general, so arguments about where the line
between header and envelope could have been drawn in some ideal email
protocol are not relevant except to the extent that they explain features
of Internet email, such as the messy header. An explanation that draws the
line according to wishful thinking rather than reality just leads to
confusion, especially if it redefines a term that already has an
established meaning.
Tony.
--
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CAPE WRATH TO RATTRAY HEAD INCLUDING ORKNEY: WEST OR SOUTHWEST 6 TO GALE 8,
BUT SEVERE GALE 9 AT TIMES OVER ORKNEY, DECREASING 5 OR 6 BY TUESDAY MORNING.
RAIN OR SHOWERS, MAINLY IN THE NORTH. MODERATE OR GOOD. ROUGH OR VERY ROUGH,
BUT MODERATE AROUND THE INNER MORAY FIRTH.