Subj : Re: 40 Cups of Coffee
To   : August Abolins
From : Nick Boel
Date : Sun Apr 06 2025 11:37:04

Hey August!

On Sun, Apr 06 2025 10:35:00 -0500, you wrote:

 > I don't there is UTF-8 support on the incoming.  OpenXP is a  
 > terminal/console program afterall.

I'm currently using slrn (a linux console newsreader) that displays UTF-8 just fine, just as well as most other console based Linux applications I use here, so I don't think this is really an excuse/reason. Maybe moreso for Windows, though.

 > I just tried the dove-tech-talk echo, and the TLDR material  
 > with OpenXP looks messy with unresolved conversions.  So, not  
 > sure what you consider is "handles very nicely".

Either something on your end must not be configured correctly for this. You have to enable UTF-8 and there might have even been some mime decoding options in the only place OpenXP has these settings (I don't remember exactly). You'll see what I mean when you have it configured right. Or, it could be Windows specific where it doesn't work as well.

It's also possible I set this up more precisely on Linux, and maybe didn't get this far in regards to setup on Windows.. after realizing the Windows command prompt doesn't work anything like a Linux console in regards to UTF-8. After fiddling with Windows' code page 65001 for about 30 minutes, I gave up on it and downloaded/installed it on Linux to see if I could get further.

However, I did just find this:

https://github.com/microsoft/terminal

 > Oh.. so yes.. the plaintext is what OpenXP does well.

I'd have to agree with you there. At least the ascii part of it. I don't even think I spent much time checking on CP437 as I probably assumed it just worked, but I'm guessing that works OK?

 > I doubt that OpenXP can ever support UTF-8 like in gui-type  
 > windows.  The limitation is the charset/font support in Windows  
 > DOS terminal.  I currently use Lucinda TT console.  It has  
 > limits to what foreign chars it supports. German, French,  
 > Italian, Spanish chars are supported.

Sure it can. At least on Linux. Windows console may need a bit more work, but that's way above my pay grade.

You could try using 'chcp 65001' to change to whatever MS considers it's UTF-8 console support.

 > AFIK, OpenXP maintains UTF-8 chars on the outbound in NNTP-type  
 > areas.  Not sure if it renders as expected on the inbound.

I didn't try sending anything off, however on display it was all question marks. I questioned it even more when I got Dovenet's Tech Talk area to display properly (minus html and also mime decoded - as good as my console newsreaders handle it) with UTF-8 characters and glyphs.

 > I *did* kinda kickstart a push to have some problems corrected.

There may be one left to push! :)

Regards,
Nick

.... Sarcasm: because beating people up is illegal.
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