Posted by Alan J. Flavell on 03/18/06 16:58

On Sat, 18 Mar 2006, Switchy blurted out atop a fullquote (and on
usenet we already know what that's likely to indicate), in response to
"jstorta":

> The reason that I asked you if you use Mozzila is:
>
> IE can recognize a lot of extensions,

In clear text: MSIE violates a mandatory requirement of the HTTP
protocol.

> otherwise, with mozzila you have to contact your provider
> who can define the extension on server.

What you're thinking of is true for all WWW-compatible browsers, by
definition. Not only Mozilla.

> That happens to me with MSI (Microsoft Installer) extension.

Browsers usually provide a way for the recipient to download content
from a link, even if the sender gets the type wrong. But the *user*
has to ask for it deliberately (e.g shift/click). The HTTP protocol
prohibits browsers from unilaterally overriding the server-provided
content type.

> DO not use Mozzila is just a game for kids.

You'd have to draw your own conclusions about whether to take advice
from someone who can't even spell Mozilla, let alone caring to follow
netiquette, and can't seem to recognise the difference between a
WWW-compatible browser and an operating system component which, all
too frequently, is too clever for the security of its users.

"Switchy" doesn't even know what principles MSIE uses in violating
this mandatory requirement. Looking at the filename extension is
pretty much its *last* resort when guessing at content type - as MS's
own documentation would have told him.

cheers

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