PGP: sequencing messages

[Trevor Smith]

On Wed, 5 Apr 2000 10:30:20 -0700, Steve Lamb wrote:

>Wednesday, April 05, 2000, 10:18:21 AM, Trevor wrote:
>> Don't you see the flaw in this?
>
>    No.
>
>> Suppose you were talking about a POPULAR email client, such as Outlook
>> Express or Eudora. The chances of many people at the same domain using the
>> client on the same day are EXTREMELY good. Then you've only got 10,000 (or
>> 100,000 in the third example) possible combinations. Subscribers to att.net
>> or aol.com could probably guarantee a message ID would be duplicated at this
>> rate.
>
>    I don't think so.  That is why I said a "mixture of unique and random"

I was referring only to the apparently flawed method The Bat! appears
to use and pointing out that letting clients set the message ID
relies on the developer of the client "doing it right".

>elements.  The unique elements would prevent duplication on the mass scale and
>the random elements on the local scale.  I will admit that TB!'s scheme is not
>all that great.  In fact, I believe I've filed a bug on it.  But look at
>Mutt's.  What are the chances of two people composing a message at the same

Agreed. Mutt's seems much better.

>    Now, AOL also has, uhm.. 20-30 SMTP servers.  What are the chances of
>those servers, which are the same, with the same algorithm, duplicating a
>MSGID?
>
>    To me, there is no difference between the two.

This may be valid.

>    It does not say server.  PMMail, in this regard, is clearly the exception,
>not the rule.  On a technical matter such as this I do consider that a bug.

Fine by me. But for the record, I don't think "bug" is the right word
to use just because a program does something differently from the
norm.

My definition of a "bug report" is: "this code is *intended* to do X
but instead does Y."

My definition of a "feature request" is: "this code does X but I
*want* it to do Y."

Anyway, I have noted your request that PMMail/2 add the message ID
line itself, regardless of whether you call it a bug, I call it a
design decision and John Doe calls it a tuna fish sandwich.


-- 
 Trevor Smith          |          trevor@haligonian.com
 PGP public key available at: www.haligonian.com/trevor

PGP Public Key Fingerprint= A68C C4EC C163 5C0A 6CFA  671F 05D4 0B30 318B AFD6