[NNTP] Consensus?

[Charles Lindsey]

In <42FF1BAA.4050706 at nntpserver.com> Steve Walker <nntp at nntpserver.com> writes:

>You keep forgetting that RFC977 was completely text based and did 
>not specify any binary limits.

As a consequence of which implementors used their common sense, and used
32 bit integers (or preferably unsigned). There are millions of clients
out there using those 32 bit ints, and a large number of people will still
be using them for many years to come. Therefore, a solution that allows
those to continue is much to be preferred (and yes, such solutions DO
exist).

>  The current 32 bit limit is the 
>new non-interoperable change to the protocol.

No, it was not a change. It just recognized and codified what was already
the de facto practice.

>If you can justify breaking existing software and forcing 
>everything to use 32 bit binary numbers then you can just as 
>easily force everyone to use 64 bit numbers.

It is you who has to justify breaking existing software (i.e. the huge
installed base of clients - I could perhaps justify breaking the much
smaller base of installed servers). I don't have to "force" everything to
use 32 bit numbers, as you claim. They are already doing that.

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