(you don't need to link to RFC2822 section 2.1.1, it's linked to in the article that you just read)
I'm quite familiar with the 78 line break as a Unix user for the last 15 years, but Section 2.1.1 is RFC 2822 should never have been carried forward from RFC 822, where it was originally written decades ago:
- There are many displays less than 78 characters wide.
- There are many displays more than 78 characters wide.
- Most apps that run on displays that are 78 characters wide can happily display paragraphs in their available width.
I'm quite familiar with the 78 line break as a Unix user for the last 15 years, but Section 2.1.1 is RFC 2822 should never have been carried forward from RFC 822, where it was originally written decades ago:
- There are many displays less than 78 characters wide.
- There are many displays more than 78 characters wide.
- Most apps that run on displays that are 78 characters wide can happily display paragraphs in their available width.
The IETF is wrong. For that matter, I even wrote a Chrome extension to specifically fix reading IETF papers: https://github.com/mikemaccana/deneckbeard