Subject: [EAI] EDITORIAL: utf8

From: "Charles Lindsey" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2007 23:20:03 +0100

4.6.  message/global

    Internationalized messages, also called UTF8SMTP messages, must only
    be transmitted as authorized by [EAI-SMTP-extension] or within a non-
    SMTP environment which supports these messages.  A message is a
    "message/global message", if

There seems to be a confusion between the new type of message we have now  
invented (we used to call them "UTF8SMTP messages" and now we seem to be  
calling then "global messages") and the MIME-type which is sometimes used  
to encapsulate them. So I think what you need to say above is:

    ... A message is termed a "global message" if
    o  it contains UTF-8 header values as specified in this document, or
    o  it contains UTF-8 values in the headers fields of body parts.

Note that the DSN draft is still using the term "UTF8SMTP messages", and  
needs to be changed.

    The second type, used for content return, is message/global which is
    similar to message/rfc822, except it contains a message with UTF-8
    headers.

What does "second" mean there (or where is the "first type")? It can't  
refer to your 2nd bullet above, since that situation can arise within a  
multipart type with no message/global in sight. Moreover, use of the  
message/global type is not restricted to "content return"; it can be used  
wherever encapsulation of a global message is required. So I think that  
wording should be:

    A new MIME type "message global" is defined for encapsulating global  
messages
    (such as when content is returned in a DSN). This type is similar to  
message.
    rfc822, except that it contains ...

    This type has profound implications on the email
    infrastructure.  If this type is sent to a 7-bit-only system, it
    could be encoded in [RFC2045].  (Note that a system compliant with
    MIME that doesn't recognize message/global would treat it as
    "application/octet-stream" as described in Section 5.2.4 of
    [RFC2046].) ...

I have already pointed out that many existing systems do not treat it as  
"application/octet stream" (whether or not they are supposed to do that,  
which is arguable).

......

    Type name:  message

    Subtype name:  utf8smtp
                   ^^^^^^^^
                    global

-- 
Charles H. Lindsey ---------At Home, doing my own thing------------------------
Tel: +44 161 436 6131                       
   Web: http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/~chl
Email: [email-masked]      Snail: 5 Clerewood Ave, CHEADLE, SK8 3JU, U.K.
PGP: 2C15F1A9      Fingerprint: 73 6D C2 51 93 A0 01 E7 65 E8 64 7E 14 A4 AB A5

_______________________________________________
IMA mailing list
[email-masked]
https://www1.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ima