Re: textmode not going away and mime security (was: Re: .mailcapand mutt

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On Tue, 25 Mar 2003, Lee Maschmeyer wrote:

> I just discovered at least a partial cure for my
> seeming inability to receive HTML messages, or
> at least some of them. Often when trying to 
> .... 
> .
> .
> .mailcap file containing the following command:
 
> text/html; /usr/bin/htmlview -dump %s ; copiousoutput

The problem with that, is that you are letting any
unknown email source run the htmlview shell script
on your system, a serious security hole (it's well
known that making shell scripts secure is
difficult to the point of being impractical or
impossible).

And html mail is inherently risky anyway -- I
refuse to use browser based email clients for that
reason, as do many other security conscious
people.  If you really must view the html part of
a message (usually deletion is the right option),
why not use a text based email client that can do
a decent job of rendering the text part of it,
(like "pine", for instance), for that message?
 
> Whether we like it or not, Linux is going GUI,
> folks.  Text mode is already a poor relation and
> it'll get poorer, just as it did when DOS with
> Windows ...

I'll answer this in faq format.

Question: The fear that the GUI will somehow
obsolete the text mode environment comes up on
this list from time to time, so I won't go into
much detail ... again.

Answer: The text part of linux continues to get
richer, with more apps, and will continue to do
so: it can never go away.  It is absolutely
essential, for many reasons, for all users.
Search the list archives for more about why, read
the blinux faq, which also gives some sense of
why, however brief (someone should improve on
that, and submit it Hans for inclusion, so that
threads like this will disappear), and here:
http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/taoup/html/ch01s06.html,
which should help with understanding the issues.
GUI apps can never tap more than a small part of
the real power available through the text,
scripting, and utility environments (kind of like
lego style building block program modules --
hundreds of them are standard in any distribution,
and who knows how many thousands are available on
archive sites, with more every day -- you can't
even boot normally without maybe a hundred or so
of these running).

The consequence is that NOT having access to the
GUI could actually lead on a fast track to
superior competency and functionality for many
users, though the learning curve is higher.  So a
print-disabled/VI user may actually be a premium
hire for an employer, in a linux environment: one
of the things slowing the amazing rate of adoption
of linux in the business environment is the
shortage of competent linux knowledgable
personnel, beyond the GUI.

LCR

P.S., Hans, if you want to include the last part
of this answer in the FAQ, till something better
shows up, it's fine with me.  Sorry I can't work
it into more suitable form right now.

-- 
L. C. Robinson
reply to no_spam+munged_lcr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

People buy MicroShaft for compatibility, but get incompatibility and
instability instead.  This is award winning "innovation".  Find
out how MS holds your data hostage with "The *Lens*"; see
"CyberSnare" at http://www.netaction.org/msoft/cybersnare.html



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