Re: #1479 USEPRO 3.8: Whether moderators SHOULD retain message-ID

In <[email protected]> Russ Allbery <[email protected]> writes:

>Julien ÉLIE <[email protected]> writes:

>>>   4.  Moderators are encouraged to retain the Message-ID header field
>>>       if it is valid, and also retain the Date header field unless it
>>>       appears to be stale (72 hours or more in the past)
>>>
>>> Charles wanted a SHOULD for retaining message-ID. Nobody else commented.
>>

>To provide some additional history, the reason why the draft currently
>says encouraged and not SHOULD is fallout from a global decision when I
>proposed the alternate draft that became this one a while back, namely to
>avoid any protocol requirements on moderators since, in practice, no
>constraints are placed on what moderators can do.

Yes, that is a valid point. OTOH, the consequence of a moderator ignoring
our advice without good cause could be quite troublesome.

So I now think the most that is needed would be to reword it along the
following lines:

"Moderators are encouraged not to alter the Message-ID header field unless
it is invalid or the article has become significantly changed from its
original form; and are also encouraged to retain the Date ......".

Note additions of "to" before retain (which actually may have already been
fixed).

>Looking back on this several years later, I don't feel the passion for the
>current position that I used to, so at this point I don't really care,
>although I do think encouraged says all that's really necessary to say.

-- 
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