On 26-Oct-06 Martin Maechler wrote: > >>>>>> "Michael" == Michael Toews <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >>>>>> on Wed, 25 Oct 2006 19:00:03 -0700 writes: > > Michael> Okay ... I'll try to attach that patch once more > Michael> ... (does this list only accept certain exertions > Michael> for attachments? I used '.patch', but it must have > Michael> been filtered off, so I'll try '.patch.txt' now > > It's not the file name, but the MIME type of an attachment which > is important. > text/plain is valid, e.g., > > The posting guide and even http://www.r-project.org/mail.html > mention this. > > It seems your e-mail software does not allow to specify the MIME > type used, but rather determines it from the file extension. > Other e-mail client programs send all "unknown" attachments" as > binary; and most ascii texts seem "unknown" in this regard.
Mine (XFMail) always gives me the option to confirm or change the MIME type it has determined from the extension or, if it does not recognise the extension, I am asked to assign the MIME type. > All this feels Micro$oftish and it is sad to see that such a > softie--attitude also invades free software developments such > as a unix-based version Thunderbird which I'm guessing you use. I have to agree with this. Quite apart from any criticisms one may have of the quality of technical performance of M$ software, one of its major annoyances since its early days has been its tendency to "know better" than the user, and to assume control over choices which the user would prefer to make judiciously. One outstanding quality of Unix, and later Linux, is the fact that the user can consciously choose and control what the software does. Regrettably, Linux increasingly conceals this beneath "user-friendly" interfaces which take control, softie-style. This is undoubtedly an attempt to appeal to a wider user-base. Fortunately, the underlying controllability is still accessible in many cases if you lift the lid. But GUI-driven applications such as web-browsers and web-based mailers tend to work from the top (GUI) down, making this hard to reach. Best wishes to all, Ted. -------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861 Date: 26-Oct-06 Time: 12:56:22 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------ ______________________________________________ R-devel@r-project.org mailing list https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-devel
