http://bugs.python.org/review/21488/diff/11863/Doc/library/codecs.rst File Doc/library/codecs.rst (right): http://bugs.python.org/review/21488/diff/11863/Doc/library/codecs.rst#newcod... Doc/library/codecs.rst:29: encoding is ``utf-8``. You should also mention the default error handler: The default *encoding* is ``'utf-8'`` and the default *error* handler is ``'strict'``. http://bugs.python.org/review/21488/diff/11863/Doc/library/codecs.rst#newcod... Doc/library/codecs.rst:40: encoding is ``utf-8``. The default *encoding* is ``'utf-8'`` and the default *error* handler is ``'strict'``. http://bugs.python.org/review/21488/