[SpamCop-List] OE, QP, flowed, MIME, and all the rest (was: patent-fr)

[Frank Ellermann]

Philippe Verdy wrote:
 
> It WAS my initial setting to not use quoted-printable for
> newsgroup, until recently, when I was COMPLETELY unable to
> transfer to spamcop.spam a copy of a spam I received.

QP and the _visible_ line lengths are not directly related.

With QP the "real" (on the wire line) length is limited to
76 IIRC, but if it ends with '=' the receiver is supposed
to  concatenate it with the next line.  Example:

a =
bb =
ccc =
dddd

That should be shown as one line "a bb ccc dddd".  If it's
too long it goes off the edge with some newreaders (see also
Steven's reply).  With my stoneage-ersatz-newsreader I can
activate "wrap long lines" maybe getting something like:

a bb ccc
dddd

So far it works for some of us (excl. Steven), and I never
note that I have to trim quotes in replies manually:

> a bb ccc
dddd

That's what I get, after I fixed it manually it will be:

> a bb ccc
> dddd 

But there's a bug in my old newsreader, if the visible line
is extremely long and I try to reply, it truncates the quoted
paragraph... :-(

In about ten (?) years, when all newsreader and MUAs support
RFC 3676, it will be better.  No research needed, the solution
is clear (3676), but it will take ages until all software uses
it.  My UA is vintage '97, RFC 3676 was published 2004.

Better stay away from QP if it has odd side-effects with your
software.  I've enabled it for messages with non-ASCII char.s.
 
> I really don't see why standard MIME formats used in almost
> all email readers (that alsointegrate newsgroup readers)
> should not be used here

There's nothing wrong with MIME and QP, use it as you see fit.

But OE gets it wrong, as always.  Add another piece of broken
software on the other side (my UA, or Steven's, or another OE
configured differently), and it's a complete mess.

The line length issue is an old battle, OE didn't invent it:
Most users want mono-spaced fonts with "hard" line breaks and
relatively short (73..79) lines.

Some users prefer proportional fonts, "soft" line breaks, and
let the other side fold (format=flowed) it depending on their
font and window width.

It's no new problem and not your fault.  Today I use a mixed
strategy, short lines (73..79) with "hard" line breaks, but
URLs all in one line, no matter how long it is,
 
> we need to support the same formats as used in EMAILS, and
> those that use outdated antiquity newgroup readers need to
> change their reader if they want to be able to get copies of
< email abuses

No, I'd just *PLONK* you.  The line length limit is precisely
the same in mail (998 + CR + LF = 1000) for text/plain, that
is a MIME limit, not some fancy rule only for news.  Of course
spammers do NOT follow the MIME rules, what else is new ?

                           Bye, Frank