Subject: Re: #1047 permitted constructs - a list

From: Harald Tveit Alvestrand <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 07 Feb 2006 15:09:49 +0100

Can you point me at your poll opinion? Didn't see it in the list archives 
when I scanned them...

WRT dot: Told you Frank was better at ABNF than I am....

--On torsdag, januar 26, 2006 14:07:06 -0800 John Stanley 
<[email-masked]> wrote:

> How about:
>
> - A path-element can be:
>
> * path-identity followed by !
> * path-diagnostic followed by !
>
> And then the rest about what a path-diagnostic can be, since the path
> diagnostic is defined to contain the leading dot.
>
> But just what IS a path-diagnostic anyway?

It's not an identity, and most of the WG wants it in the path. That's the 
only things *I* feel sure about.

                  Harald

---

From: Frank Ellermann <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 07 Feb 2006 18:34:43 +0100

> It's not an identity, and most of the WG wants it in the
> path. That's the only things *I* feel sure about.

Richard convinced me that !.POSTED is somewhat redundant -
servers supporting a new Path syntax will also support the
new Injection-Info with a "posting-host" <host-value>.

Charles showed - probably that wasn't his intention - that
three kinds of !.POSTED are more trouble than they are worth.

Without !.POSTED the syntax can be short (14 productions):
<http://article.gmane.org/gmane.ietf.usenet.format/30600>

                          Bye, Frank

---

From: "Charles Lindsey" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2006 16:33:20 GMT

><http://article.gmane.org/gmane.ietf.usenet.format/30600>

No, I think it is still useful to have .POSTED at the proper place in the
Path, but if you want to avoid complications, then limit the number of
diagnostics to one. My point was that a SEEN/MISMATCH/etc diagnostic was
redundant as well as a .POSTED because that information should also be
available in the Injection-Info (however, there is certainly one current
site that puts an IP address - with the intention of "SEEN" - at the point
where the .POSTED would appear).

I think the real benefit of .POSTED is that it stands out in the Path
(for those looking for malpractice) and focusses attention on the place to
look. Moreover, if it appears twice, that immediately signals a place
where closer inspection may be needed (though it is not necessarily an
error, it often will be - i.e. a malefactor who tries to preload a .POSTED
into his Path will likely be spotted).

-- 
Charles H. Lindsey ---------At Home, doing my own thing------------------------
Tel: +44 161 436 6131 Fax: +44 161 436 6133   Web: http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/~chl
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