Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!clyde!uunet!snorkelwacker!think!samsung!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!caesar.cs.montana.edu!blake!ogicse!schaefer
From: schaefer@ogicse.ogc.edu (Barton E. Schaefer)
Newsgroups: comp.mail.mush
Subject: Re: included messages
Message-ID: <5975@ogicse.ogc.edu>
Date: 5 Dec 89 06:45:46 GMT
References: <4374@ur-cc.UUCP>
Reply-To: schaefer@ogicse.UUCP (Barton E. Schaefer)
Organization: Oregon Graduate Institute (formerly OGC), Beaverton, OR
Lines: 47

In article <4374@ur-cc.UUCP> Mark Sirota <msir@cc.rochester.edu> writes:
} I am using 6.5.6 6/30/89; I don't know if this has been fixed in the new
} alpha version, but just in case it hasn't, I want to point it out.
} 
} I am bothered by the fact that when including a message (with "mail -i" or
} "~i"), the blank lines at the beginning and end of the body are included.

It hasn't exactly been fixed, but it's easier to change than it was.  The
"write" command no longer includes the leading and trailing blank lines, but
special dispensation was made to do keep them in ~i.  Getting rid of them
would actually *remove* a special case.

However, at least in the case of the leading blank line, I actually prefer
to have it there, separating $pre_indent_str from the message body, but of
course a newline can be forced into $pre_indent_str.  Anybody else want to
hazard an opinion on this?

} I have always thought of the blank line at the beginning of the body as a
} delimiter between the headers and body, not as a part of the body.
} Similarly, the blank line at the end is an end-of-message marker, not part
} of the body.

Correct.  Although included text is implemented by keeping the leading
and trailing blank lines, the original feeling was that it looked best
that way -- they would have have been added if they weren't already there.
So it isn't really a case of those being considered "part of the body".

} In particular, if I am replying to a one-line message, I don't want it

But what proportion of your replies with included text are to one-liners?
____________

As long as I'm posting anyway, I should announce that my address has
changed again, just enough to be confusing.  The name of the school I
attend has officially changed from Oregon Graduate Center to Oregon
Graduate Institute, and correspondingly, the hostname and domain names
of the E-mail gateway have also changed.  I am now reached as

    schaefer@cse.ogi.edu		{harvard,rutgers}!ogicse!schaefer

My signature has been hinting at that for a while, but now the changes
have actually gone into effect.
-- 
Bart Schaefer     "I seem to have run into a novel problem with the electronic
                       mail.  My computer's demanding an electronic female."
schaefer@cse.ogi.edu
(used to be cse.ogc.edu)                              "Preferably brunette."