Re: [idn] Some comments

[William Morris <me@williammorris.com>]

On Sun, 14 Jan 2001, Dave Crocker wrote:

> Folks,
> 
> We went been through this paradigm debate almost 10 years ago.
> It was MIME vs. "just do 8-bit SMTP".
> MIME was the right answer.  "just do 8-bit SMTP" was not.
> The ACE approach is the same paradigm as MIME.

10 years ago, 7-bit with 1 bit parity network connections were 
more common. I dont think that is the case any longer.

MIME was not just a solution for 8-bit data, it also solved the
issue of multipart data.

> It is the right way to lay an encoding enhancement on an installed base, 
> with the smallest amount of disruption.  It permits incremental adoption, 
> with immediate benefit to participants in the enhancement, and no 
> critical-path changes required of the infrastructure.  Changes to the 
> infrastructure can then happen later and more liesurely.

I think the end solution should be unicode (utf/ucs/whatever)
ACE is not part of a migration, it is an alternative.
If ACE laid the groundwork for moving to unicode I would
be much more inclined to accept it for the short term.

Infrastructure changes will only happen if there is a need for them.
ACE will meet the developers and consumers needs, so changes will
not happen if it is implemented. 

-Bill