[ih] Reporter query on the history of greater-than in quoted replies

[Brian E Carpenter]

On 23/07/2018 07:09, Dave Crocker wrote:
> On 7/22/2018 11:57 AM, Guy Almes wrote:
>> [2] it also is a simple (and relatively harmless) example of how little 
>> expedient decisions made *many* years ago, when combined with the need 
>> for various forms of "compatibility", have consequences.
> 
> I probably stopped being surprised at its persistent 20 years ago.  But 
> yes, it's really quite sad that it persists.

>From my experience it's not only persistent but also necessary, resulting
from the continued use of Unix mailbox
fromat in all kinds of mail UA implementations.

>From Brian