RE: [idn] host name vs. domain name

[RJ Atkinson <rja@inet.org>]

At 12:05 16-03-00 , Karlsson Kent - keka wrote:
>Most software will be able to handle UTF-8 for any text.

This is a very bold claim.  Please substantiate the use
of the word "most".  Most within which sample ?
Most for what KIND of software ?  Please qualify your
assertions.

(In any event, its premature to get into a deep debate about
particular solutions.  We're supposed to focus on requirements
at this point. :-)

>It seems to me that you have not been so subjected to QP and
>BASE64 during the last decade.  I have.  My collegues have.
>Many, many more have.  No-one's pleased.  And the problem isn't
>gone yet.

I'm not sympathetic.  Sendmail can eliminate both QP and
BASE64-for-text at delivery time.  The configuration on my
desktop at work automatically does this already.  Other MTAs could
do the same.  Similarly, the MTA can down-convert to 7-bit,
QP, and/or BASE64 if required -- without user involvement.

"Just send 8-bit" was known to cause operational standards-conforming
MTAs to crash and burn at the time the MIME standards were written.
Backwards compatibility DOES matter, so the MIME WG essentially had
no choice but to offer mechanisms for use with MTA infrastructures
that cannot natively handle 8-bit characters.  Consider, for example,
systems with unusual character widths (e.g. CDC Cyber uses 6-bit characters).

I'll be happy to spend an hour or two browsing Altavista to
find you new MTA software that hides the presentation format
that you dislike if you'd like my help. :-) :-)

Regards,

Ran
rja@inet.org