[Leica] Guidelines for getting your URLs through to us intact

[reid at mejac.palo-alto.ca.us (Brian Reid)]

URLs are broken by sending mailers as part of wrapping long
lines into shorter lines so that it will fit into a window.
Every mailer has some number that is its target line length;
lines longer than that target will be split. If you include
a URL that is shorter than the target line length, it will
not be broken.

If your mailer is configurable, you can set the line length
to a big number. I set mine to 999. Outlook is normally set
at 60.

If your mailer is not configurable, then you'll have to use
some cleverness to get URLs through.

Don't ever expect URLs to work in forwarded messages. The
"Forward" commands almost always break lines, and they usually
add extra characters that make it impossible for mail readers
to reconstruct the broken URL.

If you put <pointy brackets> around a URL, the vast majority
of mail readers will be able to process it even if it is
broken. But if you forward a message that has a URL with
<pointy brackets>, that is no longer true.

TinyURL and MakeAshorterLink always work. They give you a
replacement URL that is shorter than any mailer's line length.

If you are sure that your mailer does not wrap lines, then you
can just send URLs directly. If you are not sure, then the best
thing you can do is to put in the URL with <> around it, and
also use TinyURL or MakeAshorterLink.

And remember: if you ever forward a message containing a URL,
that URL will almost certainly break.

Brian Reid
LUG Saloon Keeper