Errors-to: owner-drums@CS.UTK.EDU
Date: Thu, 1 Jun 1995 01:31:47 -0700 (PDT)
From: Mark Crispin <MRC@Panda.COM>
Sender: Mark Crispin <mrc@Ikkoku-Kan.Panda.COM>
Subject: changes
To: drums@CS.UTK.EDU
Message-Id: <MailManager.801995507.19114.mrc@Ikkoku-Kan.Panda.COM>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII

I don't know if this is permitted by the charter or not, but I would like to
eliminate the following foolish (and commonly violated) requirements of 822:

1) Simplify the syntax, remove obnoxious restrictions:
    a) Remove ".", "[", and "]" from specials.
    b) Redefine local-part as word.
    c) Redefine domain as atom.
    d) Remove sub-domain, domain-literal, and domain-ref

This is what most people have to implement in their parsers anyway, in order
to cope with:
	From: Joseph T. Mooch <mooch@blurdybloop.com>
It also saving having to explain to Mr. Mooch why his MUA puts quotes around
his name and why this can not be "fixed" if he wished to continue to use his
middle initial with a period.  Let's face it, it was wrong-headed, and done
solely to make things nice for the CSnet mailer (it used "." the way other
mailers use "%" or "!".  CSnet is long gone, this has been a perennial
headache, everyone has to code around it anyway.

This also has the very desirable effect of taking DNS syntax out of 822.
822's idea of DNS was wrong, anyway.

2) Change the definition of fields so that 1*destination becomes *destination;
   change comment and all other text to make destination optional.

This well-intentioned but misguided rule in 822 leads to silly behavior on the
part of MUAs, such as:
	To: :;
and to obnoxious behavior on the part of MTAs, such as the inferior losing MTA
whose name rhymes with "bendmail" writing an hokey "Apparently-To:" header
that discloses all the recipients in a message that has only bcc's.  If the
originating MUA doesn't want any destinations in the header, let it!

3) Fix the definition of Military timezones.
   Wrong: (from 822):
                 /  1ALPHA                       ; Military: Z = UT;
                                                 ;  A:-1; (J not used)
                                                 ;  M:-12; N:+1; Y:+12
   Correct:
                 /  1ALPHA                       ; Military: Z = +0000;
                                                 ;  A:+0100; (J not used)
                                                 ;  M:+1200;
                                                 ;  N:-0100; Y:-1200
   Also, discourage their use.

This is a bugfix, caused by a misinterpretation of the definition of the
military zones.

4) Specify that UT is +0000 and not -0000.

This should be obvious, but a lot of people really don't know what is the
numeric representation of UT.

-- Mark --

DoD #0105, R90/6 pilot  FAX: (206) 842-0758  ICBM: N 47.36'24" W 122.34'08"
TOPS-20: A Great Improvement Over Its Successors