[Mailman-Users] Blank Characters Removed from "Subject:" Line

[Mark Sapiro]

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Barry Finkel wrote:
> 
> Below are pieces of two messages.  I have the original message
> from the archives of the sender followed by the relevant lines of
> the list .mbox file (including line numbers).
> 
> =======================================================================
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ...
> Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 2:30 PM
> To: ...
> Subject: RE: Change in Procedure for Computers on list with possible
> AntivirusProblems


This is some rendering of the Subject:, but it is not the actual
Subject: header. If it were, the Subject: of the outgoing message would
be simply

Subject: RE: Change in Procedure for Computers on list with possible

since a header continuation must begin with at least one whitespace
character. You need to get the 'message source' from the sender.

> Not a question ...
> =======================================================================
>  184331 Subject: RE: Change in Procedure for Computers on list with possible
>  184332         AntivirusProblems


And here we see Mailman has sent the post with the subject folded with a
<tab> as the whitespace character.

>  184333 Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2007 14:29:52 -0500
>  184342 From: ...
>  184343 To: ...
> 
>  184358 
>  184359 Not a question ...
> 
> =======================================================================
> =======================================================================
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ...
> Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 3:50 PM
> To: ...
> Cc: ...
> Subject: RE: Change in Procedure for Computers on list
> withpossibleAntivirusProblems


And someones MUA has dropped the <tab> in unfolding (and this has
happened more than once)

I think it would be better if Mailman folded using <sp> rather than
<tab> since with <tab> a standards compliant unfolding would leave a
<tab> in the middle of the subject which may be worse than dropping it.

But, the fact remains that there are many commonly used MUAs that drop a
whitespace character in unfolding and there's not much we can do about that.

- --
Mark Sapiro <msapiro at value.net>       The highway is for gamblers,
San Francisco Bay Area, California    better use your sense - B. Dylan

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