[aprssig] Please, standardize UTF-8 for APRS

[Matti Aarnio]

On Mon, Sep 21, 2009 at 03:16:50PM -0400, Robert Bruninga wrote:
>  >>> UTF-8 would be very, very good...
> > 
> > Is this going to be practical AT ALL within the existing APRS framework?   
> > Currently the APRS message string length is limited to 60-70 bytes...
> 
> I can clarify the intent of that limitation.  That limitation
> (back then) meant the DISPLAY LENGTH.  I would have no objection
> to message strings being longer packets, as long as the
> resulting decoded "text" was limited in that range.
> 
> So the question remains... What would a D7, D700, D710, VX8R,
> Hamhud, Byonics and Argent and Uiview system display if it
> received text in UTF-8?

Garbage in varying ways, because you in very short sighted manner never
made any adequate definitions beyond US-ASCII.  Now you are unwilling to
even consider abandoning systems that are beyond hope to be used for
international messaging in the first place.

IETF has had a policy for a few years, that _requires_ all new specifications
to define ways to handle character sets, and languages, where appropriate.

> Those who speak english, can still send ASCII.
> Those who want to encode/decode UTF-8 are welcome to do so, as
> long as it does NOT-LOCKUP or crash any of these very numerous
> systems. (IE, is 7 bit)

You just killed APRS messaging for the rest of the world, thank you so much....

Now why do you still need to wonder, why we have no interest in the joke
messaging as defined in your "specification" ?

 Clue 1:  Skype
 Clue 2:  ICQ
 Clue 3:  NetMeeting
 Clue 4:  Fring

Yep.  NONE of them use radio, ALL of them are on the Internet.

 Clue 5:  GSM
 Clue 6:  UMTS

Both large groupping keywords that bundle a number of technologies.
Both supply reliable and quick person-to-person messaging service.
World wide!

Please feel free to ignore the ugly truth.

Do not make a mistake of presuming that our unwillingness is based on
anything but the utterly braindead TECHNICAL specification that you
are UNWILLING to CORRECT.

> Bob, Wb4APR

  73 de Matti, OH2MQK