Date   : Thu, 02 Feb 2006 12:15:57 +0000 (GMT)
From   : Tim Fardell <tim.fardell@...>
Subject: Re: Using the BBC Master 512

On Wed, 1 Feb 2006, Darren Grant wrote:

> Winmail.dat files are not part of MIME they are some dumb (MIME Encoded)
> Microsoft extension in Outlook & Outlook Express. You should turn of
> Microsoft Rich Test so that you don't waste bandwidth sending junk
> winmail.dat files to the people who don't use a Microsoft mail client. My
> guess that is most people on this list.

I agree that the winmail.dat attachment is a waste of bandwidth and should 
be disabled. 

I disagree, however, that these attachments are not part of MIME. MIME
supports attachment of any type of file to an e-mail.  The original
message was completely MIME-compliant. I agree that the TNEF file is no
use to anyone not using Microsoft mail readers, but *any* MIME-aware mail
reader should simply show it as an attachment to the e-mail - you
shouldn't see the Base64 encoded text.