MBOX-Line: From MRC at CAC.Washington.EDU  Sat Oct 27 09:36:06 2007
To: imap-protocol@u.washington.edu
From: Mark Crispin <MRC@CAC.Washington.EDU>
Date: Fri Jun  8 12:34:40 2018
Subject: [Imap-protocol] re: GMail
In-Reply-To: <fc2c80ae0710270911o23f0b366g942b2956ac3fa@mail.gmail.com>
References: <alpine.WNT.0.9999.0710241938220.520@Shimo-Tomobiki.Panda.COM>
	<fc2c80ae0710270911o23f0b366g942b2956ac3fa@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <alpine.WNT.0.9999.0710270924180.4788@Shimo-Tomobiki.Panda.COM>

On Sat, 27 Oct 2007, DINH Vi?t Ho? wrote:
> another silly bug:
> http://www.colino.net/wordpress-1.5/archives/2007/10/25/dear-gmail/

We definitely need to encourage them to Google these bugs.  Microsoft too; 
unfortunately it seems that Exchange server has regressed with protocol 
syntax bugs (take a look at BODYSTRUCTURE, especially of nested messages).

I exchanged a handful of messages with Google about their use of mailboxes 
(instead of keywords) to represent GMail labels and the problems that 
occur as a result of this.  They have two problems; first that labels can 
be UTF-8 and second that they worry about limited client support.

IMHO, we should give a hum of concensus for a commuity statement that 
keywords can be in modified UTF-7.  I don't see any syntax reason why this 
can not be done, although doubtless we'd all have to update our clients to 
handle MUTF7 in keywords.  That should not be a big deal for most of us.

MUTF7 sucks.  We all know that.  We should move forward on IMAP UTF-8 
ASAP.  I think that we should have a sweet, short, RFC in which a server 
advertises a UTF8 capability which the client has to switch on.  When on, 
the server accepts and outputs UTF-8 instead of MUTF7.  It is up to server 
how the strings are stored internally, but if it stored in UTF-8 then it 
must convert to/from MUTF7 when not in UTF-8 mode.

We do need better client support for keywords.  IMHO, we should do that 
and drag Outlook along, screaming and kicking.  That's better than the 
current situation where Outlook is dragging us back.

-- Mark --

http://staff.washington.edu/mrc
Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate.
Si vis pacem, para bellum.
