Unsupported message behaviour...

[Andrew Wilson <andrew@aaaaaaaa.demon.co.uk>]

People still awake?

Part of the MCP grey area is the bit which says that MCP messages
which can't be handled by the client should be dropped on the floor
in some non-catastrophic manner.

Right now tkMOO-light (change the damned name!!) punts the message
to the default display behaviour; it just prints it on the big
screen.  Clueful users can then enjoy the pleasures of frantic
software upgrading to get a client that does understand the message.
Clueless users are left with a numbing pain behind the ears as yet
another wonderful piece of software does something illogical.

Alternative arrangements run from popping up a dialog box which
gives some helpful error report:

    "The client has received the MCP message 'page' which it doesn't
    understand.  For a description of what this message does and
    how to ensure your software can handle it, visit the MCP Registry
    Commission at http://www.mcprc.org/registry/"

Through some user-mediated activity which selects a handler for
the message:

    "Enter handler script name [____________________] [Browse]"

All the way to some "damn that's smart" activity like:

    "Can't handle MCP message 'page'"
    "Accessing MCP Registry Commission"
    "Downloading mcp.page.tcl...installing...done"
    Networker pages, "Feel like a beer this evening?"

I guess I'd like to know which of these extremes of competence
people think a client should exhibit.

And I'm also keen to keep people awake.

Cheers,
Ay.

-- 
Andrew.Wilson@cm.cf.ac.uk http://www.cm.cf.ac.uk/User/Andrew.Wilson/