[comp.os.vms] A vote for DIGEST format.

SLOANE@UKANVAX.BITNET.UUCP (06/04/87)

I would like to put in my vote for DIGEST format.  I realize that a lot of
people don't like it, but I get pretty tired of reading the same mail message
4 or 5 times.  If whoever creates the digests could make the format for
messages a little more regular, I would be happy to write a program that
would split a digest up into separate messages.  I have a program to do this
now, but the reply addresses are not very good.  If the DIGEST format could
look like:

-------------------------------------------
Date:     dd-mmm-yyyy
From:     person this is from.
Reply-to: actual mail address to reply to.
Subject:  Subject of message

text of message.
-------------------------------------------
etc.

I would be happy to update the program and post it.  Right now, the format is
so inconsistent that I have to edit the digest by hand before processing it.
Sometimes the from address is a real MAIL type address and sometimes it isn't.
Sometimes there is a REPLY-TO line and sometimes there isn't, or it is several
lines long.  I suspect that if this program were working, many of the
objections to DIGEST format would be answered.

                      Bob Sloane
                      University of Kansas
                      Computer Center
                      (913) 864-4291
                      SLOANE@UKANVAX on BITNET