[Heathkit] Mailing list disappearing text is a MIME problem being caused by the list

[Kurt Fitzner]

Hello all,

The mailing list disappearing text problem is a problem being mostly 
caused by the mailing list software.

For those interested in a more-or-less technical explanation: any time a 
message is sent in MIME format, the different parts of the MIME message 
are separated by a boundary line.  This boundary line is specified in 
the message.  When anyone sends a message through this mailing list that 
is in MIME format, the mailing list software is adding the mailing 
list's signature as a MIME attachment.  The problem occurs because the 
mailing list isn't correctly detecting the existing MIME boundary 
setting and using that.  If it did use that, the two-part MIME message 
would just become a three-part MIME message and everyone would be able 
to read it.  Instead the mailing list is creating a whole new MIME 
boundary.  The message then has two different MIME boundary settings and 
comes across as a nested MIME message with the outer message being the 
mailing list's MIME signature and the inner message being the original 
message's MIME text.  The way this is being done doesn't appear to 
conform to the MIME standard (RFC 2045).

Solutions:

1) Ideally the mailing list software should be upgraded to correctly 
detect messages which are already in MIME format and to not use a 
different boundary setting.  I do not know who the list owner is, but if 
the list owner contacts me I will work with him to assist on this.

2) Those that are receiving the messages as blank can upgrade to 
software which will correctly unravel the mailing list's badly formed 
MIME.  I don't use gmail myself but a quick test forwarding a list 
message to an old account makes it seem like gmail doesn't support this. 
  Neither does Thunderbird.  If you have access to webmail that uses 
Roundcube, this does.  So far it's the only one I've found.  Perhaps we 
can get a list going of software that does correctly decode the munged 
messages.

3) A workaround (and I cannot stress this enough, this is a workaround 
for the real problem, not the problem itself) is for everyone on the 
list to not use MIME in their messages.  Most email clients have a 
setting for plain text which, when turned on, ALSO send the message as a 
non-MIME message.  What people need to understand is that plain text is 
not a synonym for non-MIME:

     Content-Type: multipart/alternative; 
boundary="001a1147003afe740c0557c002cb"
     --001a1147003afe740c0557c002cb
     Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"

As you can see above, you can cheerfully send plain text in a MIME 
message.  Some modern email clients will sometimes send all messages, 
even plain text ones, as MIME because this is 2017 and not 1995 and the 
presumption is that people have email clients that understand MIME.  
Please don't blame the sender if a message appears as blank.  Senders, 
try and find the settings in your message that will send it as non-mime. 
  You do not need to send to the list to test this.  You can send to 
yourself.  Send yourself an email and then look at the raw format for 
the email (save it as .eml and load it in notepad).  If you see 
"boundary=" anywhere in it, then it is MIME.

But please do not blame MIME as the problem.  The problem is not MIME.  
The problem is not HTML.  The problem is not people incorrectly using 
MIME.  The problem is the mailing list software using MIME in what is at 
the very least a very unconventional (and probably non-conforming) way 
to send its signature.

Let's all try not to use MIME as best we can, but if messages show up as 
blank let's not jump all over the sender like he's doing something 
wrong.  Let's just do whatever it takes to read it and move on until we 
can sort out the list software.

-- 
KURT FITZNER (VA1DER)
YOU DON'T KNOW THE QRO OF THE DARK SIDE!