Subject: Re: Mime-types
From: Paul Rohr (paul@abisource.com)
Date: Mon Feb 12 2001 - 20:11:13 CST
At 11:52 PM 2/11/01 -0800, WJCarpenter wrote:
>Sorry, but I think your reasons are essentially frivolous. They sound
>like not much more than "my pet project is better than everybody
>else's pet project, and it deserves special treatment":
Let's be clear. I'm not an anti-IETF heathen, really I'm not. Having
worked on browsers at SPYG while Eric (yes, our Eric) drove the HTML 2.0
standard to completion, I can certainly attest to both:
- the value of a clearly-written RFC, and
- the costs of producing one.
I do happen to believe that folks in IETF circles would love to have an RFC
for a clean, simple, network-friendly, text-based file format for the kinds
of content we can author.
So would I.
In fact, I'm starting to get the feeling that the main interest in using a
.vnd type now is just to make IETF registration easier. Ick.
If following RFC 2048 to the letter is what it takes to get us registered as
application/abiword or text/abiword for use in networked communications,
then so be it. It's high time to recruit someone interested in driving the
necessary documentation process.
If holding off on formal registration until we get someone to put together
the application/abiword RFC is the Right Thing to do, then we should do so.
Hold off, I mean. :-)
>I'll do this, though ... I'll check into it and if the RFC-2048
>procedures are just dusty things that nobody follows anyhow, then I'll
>give it the old college try to get the non-"vnd." subtypes registered.
>OTOH, if the spirit of RFC-2048 still holds water, well, I don't
>really want to be a part of subverting what is a clearly laid out and
>reasonable policy.
Thanks. I don't want to subvert it, either. Sorry if my prior posts were
unclear on that.
Paul
PS: Remember, the only place *we* use MIME types right now is for
registration with specific OSes so double-clicks Just Work. Registration
with the IETF is a big step beyond that.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b25 : Mon Feb 12 2001 - 21:12:33 CST