A quick look at the headers suggests that Ray is using Outlook Express.

However, the actual cause of these strange characters is that the
encoding is UTF-7; a non-Microsoft IETF proposal for mail-safe Unicode
encoding dating from 1994 - a time when Microsoft didn't even have SMTP
clients! (see http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc1642.html)

Given that US English isn't the only language on the net, it is a pity
that people aren't using Unicode capable mail clients these days...

Matthew

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Z39.50 Next-Generation Initiative [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> On Behalf Of Mike Taylor
> Sent: Monday, September 08, 2003 3:58 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: prefix assignment proposed bnf for cql
>
> > Date: Mon, 8 Sep 2003 10:04:31 -0400
> > From: "Ray Denenberg, Library of Congress" <[log in to unmask]>
> >
> > 1. change:
> > cql-query::+AD0- cql-query boolean search-clause
> +AHw- search-clause
> > to:
> > cql-query::+AD0- +AHs-prefix-assignment+AH0-base-cql-query
> > (note that the curly brackets mean zero or more)
> >
> > 2. Change other occurences of +ACI-cql-query+ACI- to
> +ACI-base-cql-query+ACI-
> > (only one, in search-clause definition)
> >
> > 3. add:
> > prefix-assignment ::+AD0- +ACIAPgAi- index-prefix
> +ACIAPQAi- index-identifier
> > index-identifer ::+AD0- string
>
> What are all those heiroglyphics?
>
> Are you using a mutant mail-agent from hell?
>
> _/|_
> _______________________________________________________________
> /o ) \/ Mike Taylor <[log in to unmask]>
> http://www.miketaylor.org.uk
> )_v__/\ "But what is it good for?" -- Engineer at the Advanced
> Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1965 commenting on the
> microchip.
>
> --
> Listen to my wife's new CD of kids' music, _Child's Play_, at
> http://www.pipedreaming.org.uk/childsplay/
>
>