IE4 (& Netscape 4) active/passive ftp ?

[Chris McFarlane]

Does, or can a recommendation be made that, IE4 provide
a check box selection for active versus passive ftp ?

Passive ftp can often cause runaway transfer processes.
Apparently passive ftp does not send flow rate control
ack's. When an ftp server sends much faster than the
receiving modem can handle, a high percentage of trailing
packets are lost. These are then resent, in a sliding traffic
acceptance window fashion, so that by the end of a transfer
file transfer size oftens has multiplied dramatically above
actual file size.

A few 8 Meg file tranfers have been seen to become collectively
a 1.2 Gig transfer. If paying for volume this really hurts.
If using flat rate accounts, it undermines an ISP's business
so that their flat rates have to rise. Either way, you pay.
As file sizes are tending to increase, eg for AVI's, this
problem is damaging internet viability. My ISP has mentioned
they barely break even on personal accounts.

WS_ftp offers check box selection between active ftp (default)
and passive ftp. Internet explorer 4 could easily do the same.
Does IE4 already do this, IE3 didn't, or who should such a
recommendation be made to ?

bye for now,
Chris