I'm in the process of implementing a network driver for the Binary Lexical Octet Adhoc Transport (BLOAT) protocols in the hopes of replacing the TCP/UDP/IP stack with a much more flexible XML structure. BLOAT is detailed in RFC 3252, so if you're unfamiliar with the protocol I highly recommend you read the entire RFC before providing any comments. Don't worry, it's short and sweet; you might even enjoy it.

Anyway, my problem is this: BLOAT requires that the payload be Base64 encoded which doesn't make sense to me. I mean, sure, it's the internet standard for binary payloads, but there are better, more efficient encodings available: Base128 and Base256, for example. That the RFC requires Base64 and doesn't allow for any other payload encoding really bothers me.

To that end, I'm considering a small optional change to the protocol. Embrace and extend, right? Anyway, I'd like to modify the payload element to accept an encoding attribute, which can extend the encoding to Base128 or Base256, or even to other encodings I can't conceive of at the moment. If the encoding attribute isn't present, Base64 would be assumed.

So my question is this: should I? I mean, BLOAT is an accepted standard, even if it isn't exactly omnipresent. If I make this change, will there be compatibility issues? I don't foresee any, but perhaps you, oh great Stack Overflow Community, can?

If I do implement this change, should I contact the original RFC author? Should I offer a supplemental RFC?