Re: [ietf-822] message/partial - is it still a thing?

[Ned Freed <[e-mail]>]

> Does any software out there still do message/partial?

We do. We support both creation and reassembly. Both are disabled by default.

>  We've discovered
> that both the line-mode nmh package and the exmh GUI claim support
> but are in fact broken.

That's what test suites are for...

> Is anything else out there able to do it, or is it time to heave it over the
> side?

It was never intended to be something that everyone does on a routine basis.
message/partial is a solution for a particular set of connectivity problems.

> (Probably need to double-check 'external-body' support too, but that's a different
> kettle of fish...)

Well, since every text/html part is an external-body on steroids...

> And if it's time to heave it over the side, should an RFC deprecating or moving
> it to 'Historic' be done?

Media types don't have the same statuses as RFCs, so there's no such thing as a
"historic" media type. The most you could do is changed the intended use to
"limited" or "obsolete". I don't really object to writing an RFC that does
that, but given how often I've heard someone mention the intended use of a
media type (that would be never), I question the value.

				Ned