🚀 go-pugleaf

> My problem is
>   ... that I seem to be unique in thinking that MIME could be a general
>       solution for all kinds of file structuring applications

You are not unique in thinking that.  In June 1991 I posted (to
comp.std.internat) an absolutely ridiculous plan to add MIME-like
labels to _any_ series of bits.  I even talked about whether or not
audio CD players might be updated to support such headers.  The
proposal also included a migration plan.  Needless to say, I was
ignored by most and flamed at by many.

There were at least two severe problems with the plan:

(1) It is hard to get the attention of, and reach consensus among, the
    huge number of people that deal with "series of bits".

(2) In order for such a plan to succeed in protocols that are already
    being used, you need to reach a certain "critical mass" of conformant
    systems before people can even start to use the new format in any
    meaningful way.  I.e. no warm invitation for the first users.

However, _new_ protocols can be designed from the start to include
such headers.  It was therefore rather refreshing for me to read, in
this newsgroup, that it is being used in Gopher, though I don't know
about the first versions of the Gopher protocol.
-
-- 
Erik M. van der Poel                               erik@poel.juice.or.jp