> Since the problem -- according to you -- seems to be pretty much only your
> (or your ISP's) POP3 server (nobody else complained about a truncated
> line), maybe the really bad idea is to rely on a broken POP3 server?

You forget that I'm not the one with the problem.  Someone else wanted my
free help and his message didn't get thru intact and he therefore didn't
receive free help from me.  I explained how he could fix that and you went
into this tirade about standards.

> The line length of SMTP messages is defined in RFC2821 (superseded RFC821
> some time ago). I wrote the phrase above as a response to this comment of
> yours: "Actually it is probably the POP3 server that truncated the lines,
> not a SMTP server.  I think the POP3 standard does not mention a specific
> line length, so implementers can and apparently did chose different
> values."
>
> You kind of stated that you didn't think the SMTP line length as defined
in
> RFC2821 (which we had already discussed) applies to POP3 (and formally it
> doesn't, even though it really doesn't make sense for them to be
> different), so I gave you the definition as stated in the POP3 standard.
>
> >> RFC822 (and RFC2822, which now supersedes RFC822) defines that lines
> >> must be limited to 998 characters (excluding the trailing CRLF;
> >
> > OK, I wasn't aware of that.  Last time I looked into this, there was no
> > RFC2822.
>
> Well... I said that the line length is defined in RFC822 /and/ RFC2822.
> RFC822 is dated 1982. "Last time I looked" ?!? :)  This definition of a
> line length of 1000 exists since (at least) 1982. If you have done
anything
> re mail protocols (SMTP, POP3, whatever) in the last 20 years, you could
> (should?) have seen that.

I think there is some confusion here about RFCs.  STD 10 (RFC 821) was the
original definition of SMTP, not RFC 822.  822 deals with meaning and syntax
of header fields and the like, and I don't think has any bearing on this
discussion.  821 contains the minimum line width limit and the encouragement
to make it as long as possible.  I don't recall 822 specifying a line limit,
although I only looked it over briefly a long time ago.  Apparently both 821
and 822 have been superceded by 2821 and 2822 according to what you are
saying.  Back when I worked with this stuff, those RFCs didn't exist and I
have not read them.

POP3 is described in RFC 1725, although it may also be superceded by now.  I
do remember trying to find a maximum line length spec in 1725 and not
finding one.  Perhaps a newer version, if there is one, specifies a line
length, but I'm pretty sure 1725 does not.

So unless things have changed (which is quite possible), SMTP has a minimum
guaranteed line length of 1000 character, but POP3 has no guaranteed line
length or shorter values like 256 are in the permissible range or at least
not specifically disallowed.

Since the issue in this case is a POP3 server, all this discussion of SMTP
is really irrelevant.

> But then don't complain that you receive emails
> truncated by your server...

I wasn't complaining, only advising someone how to get the free help they
desired.


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