[X4U] APPLE's Mail Program

[Ed Gould]

On Jan 1, 2008, at 5:37 PM, Randy B. Singer wrote:

>
> On Jan 1, 2008, at 8:17 AM, Ed Gould wrote:
>
>> I did try your suggestion and the APPLE mailer still broke the  
>> URL. I got chastised for this as well.
>
> Actually the problem may have nothing to do with Mail.app.  I am  
> regularly chastised for not putting angle brackets around URL's on  
> the Mac-L list.  However, even when I do, URL's show up broken.   
> After some research into the problem, I understand it is the type  
> of server than my ISP uses that causes this, not Mail.app.
>
> Also, I've found that newbies often can't follow links enclosed in  
> angle brackets because when they copy and paste the URL, complete  
> with angle brackets, that the angle brackets keep the URL from  
> working in some browsers.  (As you noted, using angle brackets is  
> not a universally accepted convention.)
>
> I'm sometimes used URL shortening services, like TinyURL, but then  
> I run afoul of folks who are too paranoid to click on a shortened  
> URL for fear that it might take them somewhere bad.  (Which is a  
> silly argument.  They  know that I created and am offering the  
> shortened URL, and I am a known user of the group.  Also, a  
> "regular" URL carries no guarantees that it will take you to where  
> it proports to be taking you on its face.)
>
> So...you can't win.  I recommend that you do what you think is  
> best, and ignore the pedants.
>
> ___________________________________________
> Randy B. Singer
> Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions)
> -------------SNIP----------------

Randy you are probably right. I just can't win. Thanks for the  
advice. I was starting to think that the MAIL.app was/is broken and I  
couldn't do to much about it. It looks like (to me) that you just go  
with what you get the least amount of complaints about. Thanks.

Ed

ps: How come the people who write the RFC's just step up and  
standardize this type of stuff?