From: Cameron Kaiser <spectre@floodgap.com>
Message-Id: <200802182207.m1IM71u1006396@floodgap.com>
Subject: [gopher] OverbiteFF beta is READY!!
To: gopher@complete.org
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2008 14:07:01 -0800 (PST)
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Sender: gopher-bounce@complete.org
Errors-to: gopher-bounce@complete.org
Precedence: bulk
Reply-to: gopher@complete.org

It's finally here --
OverbiteFF is ready for beta testing! And some help is required.

First off, this initial version is ONLY FOR FIREFOX 3. There will be a version
for FF2, but it will be mostly as a legacy install, and will not be supported
other than security or critical fixes due to differences between Mozilla 1.8
and Mozilla 1.9.

Make sure you are running the most current beta (3.0b3) as b2 had a bug
preventing OverbiteFF from doing socket access properly.

OverbiteFF is fully cross-platform and platform-agnostic, written in 100%
XPConnect JavaScript. It should run anywhere Firefox does, including Mac OS
X (built on it), Windows and Linux.

This extension adds:

- Full gopher support on multiple ports again, including whois, finger, etc.
- CSO/ph/qi support! very basic, but it works! That's item type 2, btw.
- "Skinability" -- create your own style sheets and icons for gopherspace
- Additional item types p and d (PNG and PDF)
- Native hURL support (handled by client, not server) with security for
  bummer schemes like javascript: and data:
- Proper interpretation of itypes 8 and T
- Localization/internationalization support (more on that in a second)
- A cute mascot

Proxies are still supported.
Search engines, duh, are still supported.

This extension changes the following:

- No more trying to interpret text/plain as HTML. This not only made a mess
  and was frequently wrong, but you couldn't save the file WITHOUT the HTML
  (do a view-source: and see for yourself) unless you grabbed it with itype 9
  tricks. This simply spits the page out unmolested as text/plain.

- No more being lazy and relying on content-sniffing for item types like I.
  Give them an extension, please, so OverbiteFF has a prayer at figuring it
  out. There is kludgey guessing logic but don't rely on this always guessing
  the same in future versions.

- HTML documents previously were allowed to slide in a very non-standard manner
  and reference images in the same directory. This is completely bogus because
  there is no way that the itemtype can change like that in a relative URI
  sense. Thus, any HTML documents with hyperlinks or <img>, <embed>, etc.,
  MUST USE ABSOLUTE URLs, not relative ones. They should have never worked in
  the first place (and note that #anchors don't -- but this is a Mozilla bug
  which I will report).

I would be happy to credit everyone who sends me a bug report with you and your
gopher server, BUT I MUST HAVE YOUR REAL NAME. I want this to look as pro
as possible. You get the about page with gopher:// (no HOST) or
about:gopher (or about:overbite).

Also, I need translators to help internationalize this in a big way. Native
speakers preferred. I can do Spanish in a pinch, but I speak street Spanish
and I'd rather a native who can speak erudite international es, for example.
Again, I will credit you, but real names only please.

Please do not publicize this beta, as I do not want its presence to jeopardize
Gopher support in 1.9 (as FF3 is not final). I know Brendan Eich said it would
remain, but I don't trust them. Its presence in FF3 will ensure that there
will be a migration period and we'll get the Firefox users onto this so that
there will be little attrition by Moz2.

Download URL:

	gopher://gopher.floodgap.com/9/overbiteff.xpi

The home page does not exist yet, and there are no automatic updates (but
there will be).

There is hope!

-- 
------------------------------------ personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ --
  Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckaiser@floodgap.com
-- Make welfare as hard to get as building permits. ---------------------------