CHARSET.CONF(5)

💖 CHARSET.CONF(5) 💖

okay bestie, so this is CHARSET.CONF(5) — the manual page (that's the (5) bit, file formats section, iykyk) for charset.conf, from sympa version 6.2.80. it's giving "niche but essential" and honestly? we're obsessed. let's get into it ✨

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🎀 NAME 🎀

charset.conf — the configuration file for legacy character set support, brought to you by Sympa. she's a whole mood. 🦋

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✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

so here's the tea: in some language environments, legacy encoding (aka character set) is what people actually prefer for e-mail messages. like — for example, "iso-2022-jp" in the Japanese language. that's just the vibe there, no cap. 💅

charset.conf defines the mapping between language context and legacy character set for the service messages that Sympa sends out. so basically it's the translator bff that makes sure your emails show up looking correct in the right encoding.

if you want to enable legacy character set support, it's literally so easy — just copy the sample charset.conf onto the configuration directory:

# cp $DEFAULTDIR/charset.conf $SYSCONFDIR/charset.conf

and then set the "legacy_character_support_feature" parameter value in sympa.conf to "on". two steps, main character energy, done. 🫶

📝 Note

okay real talk for a sec: if you're planning to upgrade Sympa from earlier than 5.3a.8, the original charset.conf is required to convert shared documents during the upgrade process. don't lose it, don't delete it, don't be that girl. 🚨

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🌸 FILES 🌸

• $DEFAULTDIR/charset.conf — the distribution default. ngl, this file should not be edited. hands off, bestie. 🙈
• $SYSCONFDIR/charset.conf — this one right here? this is the configuration file. the one you actually touch. 👑

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🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

• sympa_config(5) — go read her next, she's iconic too. ⭐

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💜 HISTORY 💜

legacy character set support first appeared on Sympa 6.0. a historic moment, fr fr. 🌈

this document was initially written by IKEDA Soji <ikeda@conversion.co.jp> at 16, Mar 2009, and modified by VERDIN David <david.verdin@cru.fr> at 27, April 2009. legends, both of them. 👑✨

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and that's the whole page, bestie — this lil doc is from sympa version 6.2.80, dated 2026-10-19. now go forth and configure your charsets like the queen you are 💅🎀🦋