[Mailman-Users] Newbie Question -- Attachments (again)

[Mark Sapiro]

Newman, Linda (newmanld) wrote:

>Mark -- I really appreciate your answers to my questions.  
>
>I now have the following 'pass types' allowed:
>  multipart/mixed
>  multipart/alternative
>  text/plain
>  text/html
>  message/rfc822

This is good.

>This appears to handle plain text messages, and forwarded plain text
>messages, while still dis-allowing attachments that are word files or pdf
>files, executables, etc.  It also continues to translate html messages into
>plain text, but if I understand your answer below, this is because the first
>part of a multipart/alternative message is usually plain text, and so that's
>what mailman accepts.

Right. It isn't translating HTML to plain text. It is selecting the
text/plain part over the text/html part from a multipart alternative
message.

BTW, i left out a phrase in 

>Further, note that if the message contains a multipart/alternative part
>with both a text/plain alternative and a text/html alternative, only
>the first alternative which is always supposed to be the text/plain
>part.

It should have said "only the first alternative ... is retained for the
list", but you seem to have understood it anyway.

>So, it appears that if I want html formatted messages
>to also be on this list, while of course also still allowing plain text, I'd
>have to either
>   a) find an MUA that doesn't send html as multipart, but just as html
>(suggestions?)
>   b) not do any filtering of attachments.
>
>Let me know if I have mis-understood.

You appear to understand perfectly. Regarding a), Netscape/Mozilla for
example allows you to choose whether to send HTML vs
multipart/alternative in various ways - globally, by address book
entry, by domain, by asking.

As far as I know, M$ lookout (er.. outlook) express allows you to
specify plain text in address books, but if you want to send HTML, it
always sends multipart/alternative. I think outlook (not express) may
send HTML only, but I can't tell you how to set it up. Normally I'm
only interested in setting things to not send any HTML.

--
Mark Sapiro <msapiro at value.net>       The highway is for gamblers,
San Francisco Bay Area, California    better use your sense - B. Dylan