[muteh]

I've never really got my head round RFCs, but 4180 is only informational, not a standard. I have used exactly your argument before though, and will again. Have also been on the other side and needed to convert horribly inconsistent data to fit it.

[userbinator]

It's not a standard but it should very well be one, in my opinion. Whenever someone has to process CSV I always point to it to make them aware of it, that a lot of subtle points like escaping have already been defined to be done in one way. There is no good reason to NOT follow RFC4180 if you want to produce/consume CSV.