Hi, Paul Quinn!
I read your message from 10.07.2017 11:16

  PQ> BTW, I have Thunderbird's "Server settings-->Default
  PQ> character encoding" option set for 'Unicode UTF-8' on this NNTP
  PQ> server and three others.

My NNTP server provides me, besides Fidonews, with many Russian echos. 
If I do it as you said I will compose UTF messages, and I know many 
people who will complain.

BTW, if I paste into Thunderbird a text from a UTF8 www site Thunderbird 
automatically switches itself to UTF. And nobody in Russia (I mean true 
fidonet users, not NNTP users) can read such a message. Their soft 
doesn't show UTF.

Bye, Paul!
Alexander Koryagin
fido7.fidonews 2017
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