Exactly. Your fields came through as headers as follows (Braces added, last List header included to highlight lack of blank line): { Errors-To: plug-discuss-bounces@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us X-Null-Field: this is a test header X-Null-Field: this is not an actual header X-Null-Field: if this had been a real header, you would have been instructed X-Null-Field: on what to do with them. } Technomage wrote: > ok. this is new to me. > > so, if I were to place a number of lines above that started with a ":" > followed by a comment, some clients would interpret that as header info? > > btw, this e-mail is also a test..... > > On Thursday 04 August 2005 02:21, Joseph Sinclair wrote: > >>I'm not missing anything, the information is just hidden from view. >>The first few lines (the ones with ":" characters) are being *properly* >>interpreted by Thunderbird as header lines, and those don't show unless I >>do a view source. >> >>The "tool" that's compressing out the blank lines between header fields is >>somewhere in the SMTP cloud between you and me. I have no idea where, and >>no way of hunting that down. >> >>BTW Section 4.2 of RFC 2822 on the IETF web site states: >> In the obsolete syntax, any amount of folding white space MAY be >> inserted where the obs-FWS rule is allowed. This creates the >> possibility of having two consecutive "folds" in a line, and >> therefore the possibility that a line which makes up a folded header >> field could be composed entirely of white space. >> >>The EBNF in the spec states that a line with nothing but whitespace (i.e. >>tab or space) is allowed on input (compliant software should NEVER generate >>such a header), but a lot of older MTA's interpret that as "Blank Lines Are >>Allowed" on incoming messages. I know that's not perfect behavior, but >>speaking as someone who worked on MTA's about 15 years ago when the >>standing spec was RFC 822, a LOT of MTA's allowed completely blank lines, >>and a lot of other MTA's would remove those extra "fold" lines as a way of >>reducing message size without harming the content. There are still a lot >>of MTA's out there that follow this, admittedly obsolete, reasoning, but >>there's also very little I can do to fix it, since I don't know which >>servers they are, and I couldn't do much about obsolete proprietary >>software even if I did. >> >>The point of all this is that it's a simple fix to just DON'T PUT LINES >>WITH ":" CHARACTERS IN THE FIRST LINE OF YOUR MESSAGE. Is it that hard to >>just accept that there are bad MTA's out there and take simple steps to >>avoid having them munge your message? >> >>I'm not asking you to do something terribly hard here, just to be a little >>more considerate when you put links in a message by prefacing them with >>something simple, like a line stating what the link is for. It's not hard, >>and we're all used to doing simple things like this to work around flaws in >>widely used, but flawed, proprietary software (like IE). >> >>==Joseph++ >> >>Jeremy C. Reed wrote: >> >>>On Wed, 3 Aug 2005, Joseph Sinclair wrote: >>> >>>>The User Agent isn't the only actor here. The intervening mail >>>>servers are permitted to interpret the headers of the message as >>>>provided under section 4.2 of RFC 2822, and they're permitted to >>>>modify those headers to add trace information, reorder fields,, >>>>etc... This is what's happening for me, and probably for some other >>>>people as well. >>>>One of more servers between you and me (at least 7 for the message >>>>below) is removing the blank line before your "fake" headers, and >>>>Thunderbird sees it, properly, as part of the header block. According >>>>to the RFC 2822 spec, all conforming UA's SHOULD accept messages with >>>>blank lines between headers to accommodate sending UA's that are >>>>designed to the RFC 822 spec (which allowed this behavior). >>> >>>4.2 is the wrong section (unless different rfc2822 are sectioned >>>differently). >>> >>>The problem is that my two extra lines are not part of the header :) >>> >>>Please quote the specific section that allows putting "a line with >>>nothing preceding the CRLF" between the real headers and more headers. >>> >>>I'll admit that I don't know the mail specs perfectly. But I do have >>>experience with email message parsing: I have done POP3 server >>>development for around six years and have maintained vm-pop3d for over >>>four years; taught mail server administration for over four years; and I >>>have read a lot of exim, postfix and sendmail MTA code and mail.local >>>MDA code (and other SMTP mailers) and wrote and use "mailout" SMTP-out >>>sendmail replacement. >>> >>> >>>>Note, the replied messages below are NOT modified in any way, and your >>>>"fake" headers are not shown. I don't just make this stuff up, and I >>>>rather resent your implication that I did. >>> >>>We should track down specifically what mail *tool* lost my important :) >>>email message. I agree with Kurt: it's a bug that needs to be reported. >>> >>>Please see >>>http://lists.plug.phoenix.az.us/lurker/message/20050804.005401.9719e855.e >>>n.html >>> >>>and >>>http://lists.plug.phoenix.az.us/lurker/message/20050804.013243.964e82c1.e >>>n.html >>> >>> >>>Does anyone know where the lines were lost? >>> >>>I am interested in solving this. Other readers: please let me know if my >>>two lines were missing for you. >>> >>> Jeremy C. Reed >>> >>> BSD News, BSD tutorials, BSD links >>> http://www.bsdnewsletter.com/ >>>--------------------------------------------------- >>>PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us >>>To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change you mail settings: >>>http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss >> >>--------------------------------------------------- >>PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us >>To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change you mail settings: >>http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss > > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change you mail settings: > http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss > --------------------------------------------------- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change you mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss