Bug#932: Pine over-encodes files and auto-requests document
On Sat, 17 Feb 1996, Ian Jackson wrote:
> Dale Scheetz writes ("Re: Bug#932: Pine over-encodes files and auto-requests document"):
> ...
> > ^J is declared to create a mime attatchment to the current e-mail
> > message. You can use this feature with a uuencoded file if you with but
> > that was not it's intent.
>
> MIME has been designed so that it is possible to attach plain text
> files in ways that are readable to non-MIME-aware user agents.
The proper way to do this in pine is NOT with MIME. Use ^R if you wish to
include plain text in your message.
>
> Pine should do this. Unconditionally using
> `Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64' on attachements (that it claims
> are text files, too!) is unnecessary and undesirable overencoding, and
> therefore a bug.
For you, maybe it's a bug. For a large number of other users the forced
base64 encoding is useful for plain text and uuencoded files because
base64 does not use the blank or the dot (as well as several other
characters, it think, that cause troubles) in the output code set. This
allows those text and uuencoded files to pass through various mail
filters that would otherwise mangle the text in some fashion. As a result
this feature IS NOT a bug. Since the ^R feature provides the unimpeeded
transfer of plain text (and uuencoded) it is not even feature poor in
this respect.
Ian, and others, I have far too much to do right now to continue to chase
around the bush about this. As I understand the power structure, I have
the last say about these matters, so, here it is:
This is not a bug. If you think this is a bug, talk to the developers of
the software, and good luck with them, as I believe that they agree with
me on this issue. When I get to finally releasing the next ELF version of
Pine I will close this bug. If the bug is reopened I will, at my
convenience, close it with a copy of this message.
Thank you for your time,
Dwarf
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aka Dale Scheetz Phone: 1 (904) 877-0257
Flexible Software Fax: NONE
Black Creek Critters e-mail: dwarf@polaris.net
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