[SGVLUG] Updated: San Gabriel Valley Linux® Users Group (SGVLUG) Developer SIG (DevSIG) monthly meeting

[Tom Emerson]

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Dustin Laurence wrote:
> On Sat, Jul 01, 2006 at 12:37:17PM -0700, Michael B. Parker wrote:
> 
> I must say, this is the most annoying mail formatting I have ever come
> across.  Must be some awful Microsoft thing. 

Only partly true -- yes, Microsoft has had a hand in mucking this one
up, but that's par for the course.  (embrace, extend...)

What this message contained is/was an "iCalendar" object (see
    wikipedia for details, but the short version is this:

iCalendar is a standard (RFC 2445 or RFC2445 Syntax Reference) for
calendar data exchange.  [...] iCalendar allows users to send meeting
requests and tasks to other users through emails. Recipients of the
iCalendar email (with supported software) can respond to the sender
easily or counter propose another meeting date/time.

It is implemented/supported by a large number of products, including
30Boxes, Google Calendar, Apple iCal application and iPod, Chandler,
FirstClass, Lotus Notes, ScheduleWorld, KOrganizer, Lovento, Mozilla
Calendar (including Mozilla Sunbird), Mulberry, Novell Evolution,
Kronolith, Simple Groupware, WebCalendar, eventSherpa, Windows Calendar,
Nuvvo, Upcoming.org, AiAi and to some extent, Microsoft Outlook (see below).

the first thing to notice are linux-specific applications on the list:

  Korganizer (part of KDE), Evolution, Mozilla (sunbird) [though I
suspect this last is cross-platform -- anyone have a change to use it yet?)

the second thing is "...and to some extent, Microsoft Outlook" -- the
"see below" basically states "Microsoft's implementation is broken" [so
what's new?  they've just "extended" it in ways not supported by the
standard...]

> Can you use a decent
> mailer, or should I just tell procmail to kill it?  I assure you I'm
> never going to wade through that crap to figure out what the mail is
> about.

Admittedly, it is a bit unusual to be sending that type of message "to a
group" (even in an office/business setting, where calendar items are
regularly passed around, you still don't send them to "groups")  I
suspect, however, after the severe tongue-lashing we've given him at the
meeting today, that "this won't happen again" [from him, at least ;) ]

- --
Top o' the Blog: It's good to be the King...
http://osnut.homelinux.net/mtblog/ya_index.html
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