* * * * *
                                        
                    Yet more reasons to lookout for Outlook
                                        
I tried sending Spring [1] the following email: 

> **To:** XXXXXX@springdew.com
>  **From:** XXXX@conman.org
>  **Date:** Tue, 11 Sep 2001 03:42:07 -0400 (EDT)
>  **Subject:** Greg's Geocities Site
>  
> 
> http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Launchpad/4891/ [2] 
> 
>   -spc 
> 

It seems that Lookout [3] (another fine Microsoft [4] product) had problems
with that email. All Spring got was: 

> **To:** XXXXXX@springdew.com
>  **From:** XXXX@conman.org
>  **Date:** Tue, 11 Sep 2001 03:42:07 -0400 (EDT)
>  **Subject:** Greg's Geocities Site
>  
> 
>   -spc 
> 

Nice, eh? 

Of course, in talking with Spring about it, she's of the opinion that this
isn't a Lookout problem, as it's happened with someone else we know when he
sent email to a mailing list. 

Actually, now that I think of it, I think what's happening is that Lookout
(and the mailing list software) is not RFC 822 (Request For Comments---
Standard for the Format of ARPA Internet Text Messages) [5] compliant. Or at
least, it gets a few details wrong. The line of text can be interpreted at a
header line, but the email headers are separated by a blank line: 



> 
>      3.1.  GENERAL DESCRIPTION
> 
>           A message consists of header fields and, optionally, a body.
>      The  body  is simply a sequence of lines containing ASCII charac-
>      ters.  It is separated from the headers by a null line  (i.e.,  a
>      line with nothing preceding the CRLF).
> 
> 

§ 3.1 of RFC 822 

What the programs in question seem to be doing is looking for the first line
that doesn't seem to be a header line, and ignoring blank lines altogether. 

You know, there are standards for a reason … [As I was writing this entry, I
sent another test to Spring, making the first line appear to be a header
line. She got the message as I sent it. Perhaps Lookout is explicitely
looking for H-T-T-P-: … ] 

[1] http://www.springdew.com/
[2] http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Launchpad/4891/
[3] gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2001/09/04.1
[4] http://www.microsoft.com/
[5] http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/cgi-bin/rfc/rfc0822.rfc

Email author at sean@conman.org

.