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The two-hyphen-and-a-space signature separator sequence

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Ben Goetter

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Dec 6, 1996, 3:00:00 AM12/6/96
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In many email clients that support boilerplate "signature" text at the end of
composed messages, the client inserts a separator text sequence between the
message text and the signature text: a newline, two hyphens, a space, and
another newline.

Is this semi-standard documented or justified anywhere?

Thanks.


--
Ben Goetter, Angry Graycat Designs
http://www.angrygraycat.com/goetter/


Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen

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Dec 6, 1996, 3:00:00 AM12/6/96
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goe...@angrygraycat.com (Ben Goetter) writes:

> In many email clients that support boilerplate "signature" text at
> the end of composed messages, the client inserts a separator text
> sequence between the message text and the signature text: a newline,
> two hyphens, a space, and another newline.
>
> Is this semi-standard documented or justified anywhere?

Quoth RFC1036bis:

If a poster or posting agent does append a signature to an
article, the signature SHOULD be preceded with a delimiter
line containing (only) two hyphens (ASCII 45) followed by
one blank (ASCII 32).

Note that this isn't a standard in any formal sense, and RFC1036 is a
Usenet news thing. However, it has been the done thing since, well,
forever. It works.

--
(domestic pets only, the antidote for overdose, milk.)
la...@ifi.uio.no * Lars Ingebrigtsen

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