FE>> Why do you want to document / enforce tear lines in FTS-
FE>> 0004.002 ?

PE> As used by 99.999% of fidonet traffic?  Because failure to do so,
PE> immediately makes tearlines stop being a control line, and start
PE> being user-text.  Which means those 99.999% of programs need to be
PE> changed, if they don't want to pollute user-text with crap. It's
PE> bad enough as it is already.

ml> the tearline MAY have been a control line at one point a long long LONG 
ml> time ago... before you came into fidonet? i dunno, but i DO know that it's 

And still is, as specified by FTS-4.

ml> use as a control line was going going gone out back in about july of 
ml> 1990... how do i know this? this is about the time that QBBS sysops came 
ml> out with ReTear, a program to alter the tearlines on messages posted on 
ml> unregistered boards. why was ReTear developed? because that old QBBS 
ml> tearline used to state that the system was unregistered and a lot of people 
ml> didn't like that. so... now the tearline is USERtext instead of a control 

No it isn't.  Just because you have something that alters tearlines (or
even if you have something that alters SEENBYs) before a message leaves
your system, SO WHAT?  So long as the outgoing message complies with FTS
specs, you're not doing anything wrong.  Even if you write your entire PKT
using a hex editor.  BTW, you got a PID-changer too?  Does that make lines
starting x'01' potentially user-text?  If the jerkoffs in charge of fidonet
had prefixed all control lines by an x'01', we wouldn't even be having this
conversation.  BFN.  Paul.
@EOT:

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