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"Wide load" status code(s)?

solderpunk solderpunk at SDF.ORG

Wed Jun 10 21:14:47 BST 2020

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On Wed, Jun 10, 2020 at 08:04:54PM +0100, Luke Emmet wrote:

If we can

have lang and mime-type in the response for 20 response, is it really that

philosophically disturbing to include this important information that we

know makes network bandwidth negotiation better for everyone?

Important distinction: we don't have lang *and* MIME type, we have MIMEtype. The text/gemini MIME type has a lang parameter defined. We'reallowed to define parameters on text/gemini because it's our type (wecan't prescribe parameters on any other text/* type, which by the way isthe answer to some of the questions ingemini://mozz.us/journal/2020-06-08.gmi).

Adding a content-size parameter to text/gemini *is* deeplyphilosophically disturbing because MIME types are, well, *types*.Categories. It makes no sense whatsoever to put details specific to aparticular token as part of type declaration.

So the only way to add an analogue of content-length would be to send aMIME type *and* content-length, and then we need some kind of delmiter.For the sake of argument, let's say a tab character.

So you send <MIME><TAB><CONTENT-LENGTH> and then, boom, next week it's<MIME><TAB><CONTENT-LENGTH><TAB><SOMETHING-ELSE>, and it never stops.Exactly one parameter is a stable, defensible position (what Gemini hasnow). Arbitrarily many delimited parameters is a stable, defensibleposition (what the web has now). Anything in between is at very realrisk, IMHO, of mutating into the latter over time. Once a delimitercomes along, it's impossible to stop subsequent expansions.

If we have to, I think it could be a client option:

[ ] limit non-text content to 5Mb per request

[x] download all text/* content

Well, this second option is actually already totally possible. As faras I know, it's not implemented by anybody yet. I kind of like theidea, I may add it to AV-98.

Cheers,Solderpunk