diff --git a/htmlparser/src/CNavDTD.cpp b/htmlparser/src/CNavDTD.cpp
index a2458e86a7b..e8520df7d5f 100644
--- a/htmlparser/src/CNavDTD.cpp
+++ b/htmlparser/src/CNavDTD.cpp
@@ -423,6 +423,14 @@ eAutoDetectResult CNavDTD::AutoDetectContentType(nsString& aBuffer,nsString& aTy
   eAutoDetectResult result=eUnknownDetect;
   if(PR_TRUE==aType.Equals(kHTMLTextContentType)) 
     result=eValidDetect;
+  else {
+    //otherwise, look into the buffer to see if you recognize anything...
+    if(BufferContainsHTML(aBuffer)){
+      result=eValidDetect;
+      if(0==aType.Length())
+        aType=kHTMLTextContentType;
+    }
+  }
   return result;
 }
 
diff --git a/htmlparser/src/nsDTDUtils.h b/htmlparser/src/nsDTDUtils.h
index 07c2b879c1b..6ca2b34cd58 100644
--- a/htmlparser/src/nsDTDUtils.h
+++ b/htmlparser/src/nsDTDUtils.h
@@ -64,6 +64,24 @@ inline PRBool FindTagInSet(PRInt32 aTag,const eHTMLTags aTagSet[],PRInt32 aCount
 }
 
 
+/**
+ * Called from various DTD's to determine the type of data in the buffer...
+ * @update	gess11/20/98
+ * @param 
+ * @return
+ */
+inline PRBool BufferContainsHTML(nsString& aBuffer){
+  PRBool result=PR_FALSE;
+  nsString temp;
+  aBuffer.Left(temp,200);
+  temp.ToLowerCase();
+  if((-1<temp.Find("<html") || (-1<temp.Find("!doctype html public \"-//w3c//dtd html")))) {
+    result=PR_TRUE;
+  }
+  return result;
+}
+
+
 //#define _dynstack 1
 class nsTagStack {
   enum {eStackSize=200};
diff --git a/htmlparser/src/nsParser.cpp b/htmlparser/src/nsParser.cpp
index d6e2150fd6a..a6aa3d887fe 100644
--- a/htmlparser/src/nsParser.cpp
+++ b/htmlparser/src/nsParser.cpp
@@ -43,6 +43,9 @@ static NS_DEFINE_IID(kIParserIID, NS_IPARSER_IID);
 static NS_DEFINE_IID(kIStreamListenerIID, NS_ISTREAMLISTENER_IID);
 
 static const char* kNullURL = "Error: Null URL given";
+static const char* kOnStartNotCalled = "Error: OnStartBinding() must be called before OnDataAvailable()";
+static const char* kOnStopNotCalled  = "Error: OnStopBinding() must be called upon termination of netlib process";
+static const char* kBadListenerInit  = "Error: Parser's IStreamListener API was not setup correctly in constructor.";
 static nsString    kUnknownFilename("unknown");
 static nsString    kEmptyString("unknown");
 
@@ -185,6 +188,7 @@ MakeConversionTable()
  */
 nsParser::nsParser() : mCommand() {
   NS_INIT_REFCNT();
+  mStreamListenerState=eNone;
   mParserFilter = 0;
   mObserver = 0;
   mSink=0;
@@ -205,6 +209,7 @@ nsParser::~nsParser() {
   NS_IF_RELEASE(mObserver);
   NS_RELEASE(mSink);
 
+  NS_POSTCONDITION(eOnStop==mStreamListenerState,kOnStopNotCalled);
   //don't forget to add code here to delete 
   //what may be several contexts...
   delete mParserContext;
@@ -409,10 +414,12 @@ eAutoDetectResult nsParser::AutoDetectContentType(nsString& aBuffer,nsString& aT
   nsDequeIterator e=gSharedParserObjects.mDTDDeque.End(); 
 
   mParserContext->mAutoDetectStatus=eUnknownDetect;
-  while((b<e) && (eUnknownDetect==mParserContext->mAutoDetectStatus)){
+  while(b<e){
     nsIDTD* theDTD=(nsIDTD*)b.GetCurrent();
     if(theDTD) {
       mParserContext->mAutoDetectStatus=theDTD->AutoDetectContentType(aBuffer,aType);
+      if(eValidDetect==mParserContext->mAutoDetectStatus)
+        break;
     }
     b++;
   } 
@@ -820,9 +827,12 @@ nsParser::OnStatus(nsIURL* aURL, const nsString &aMsg)
  *  @return  error code -- 0 if ok, non-zero if error.
  */
 nsresult nsParser::OnStartBinding(nsIURL* aURL, const char *aSourceType){
+  NS_PRECONDITION((eNone==mStreamListenerState),kBadListenerInit);
+
   if (nsnull != mObserver) {
     mObserver->OnStartBinding(aURL, aSourceType);
   }
+  mStreamListenerState=eOnStart;
   mParserContext->mAutoDetectStatus=eUnknownDetect;
   mParserContext->mDTD=0;
   mParserContext->mSourceType=aSourceType;
@@ -844,7 +854,9 @@ nsresult nsParser::OnDataAvailable(nsIURL* aURL, nsIInputStream *pIStream, PRInt
     mListener->OnDataAvailable(pIStream, length);
   }
 */
+  NS_PRECONDITION(((eOnStart==mStreamListenerState)||(eOnDataAvail==mStreamListenerState)),kOnStartNotCalled);
 
+  mStreamListenerState=eOnDataAvail;  
   if(eInvalidDetect==mParserContext->mAutoDetectStatus) {
     if(mParserContext->mScanner) {
       mParserContext->mScanner->GetBuffer().Truncate();
@@ -902,6 +914,7 @@ nsresult nsParser::OnDataAvailable(nsIURL* aURL, nsIInputStream *pIStream, PRInt
  *  @return  
  */
 nsresult nsParser::OnStopBinding(nsIURL* aURL, PRInt32 status, const nsString& aMsg){
+  mStreamListenerState=eOnStop;
   nsresult result=DidBuildModel(status);
   if (nsnull != mObserver) {
     mObserver->OnStopBinding(aURL, status, aMsg);
diff --git a/htmlparser/src/nsParser.h b/htmlparser/src/nsParser.h
index 3e152fe1645..bf491af9bba 100644
--- a/htmlparser/src/nsParser.h
+++ b/htmlparser/src/nsParser.h
@@ -297,8 +297,9 @@ protected:
     //*********************************************
     // And now, some data members...
     //*********************************************
-
-
+    
+  enum eStreamState {eNone,eOnStart,eOnDataAvail,eOnStop};
+  
     CParserContext*     mParserContext;
     PRInt32             mMajorIteration;
     PRInt32             mMinorIteration;
@@ -309,6 +310,7 @@ protected:
     PRBool              mDTDVerification;
     PRBool              mParserEnabled;
     nsString            mCommand;
+    eStreamState        mStreamListenerState; //this is really only here for debug purposes.
 };
 
 
diff --git a/htmlparser/src/nsViewSourceHTML.cpp b/htmlparser/src/nsViewSourceHTML.cpp
index 3a76eec60ed..da7a01f85b6 100644
--- a/htmlparser/src/nsViewSourceHTML.cpp
+++ b/htmlparser/src/nsViewSourceHTML.cpp
@@ -227,10 +227,10 @@ PRBool CViewSourceHTML::CanParse(nsString& aContentType, nsString& aCommand, PRI
 
 
 /**
- * 
- * @update	gess7/7/98
+ * This is called to ask the DTD if it recognizes either the aType or data in the buffer.
+ * @update  gess7/7/98
  * @param 
- * @return
+ * @return  detect result
  */
 eAutoDetectResult CViewSourceHTML::AutoDetectContentType(nsString& aBuffer,nsString& aType){
   eAutoDetectResult result=eUnknownDetect;
@@ -238,9 +238,18 @@ eAutoDetectResult CViewSourceHTML::AutoDetectContentType(nsString& aBuffer,nsStr
     result=eValidDetect;
   else if(PR_TRUE==aType.Equals(kXMLTextContentType)) 
     result=eValidDetect;
+  else {
+    //otherwise, look into the buffer to see if you recognize anything...
+    if(BufferContainsHTML(aBuffer)){
+      result=eValidDetect;
+      if(0==aType.Length())
+        aType=kHTMLTextContentType;
+    }
+  }
   return result;
 }
 
+
 /**
  * 
  * @update	gess5/18/98
diff --git a/parser/htmlparser/src/CNavDTD.cpp b/parser/htmlparser/src/CNavDTD.cpp
index a2458e86a7b..e8520df7d5f 100644
--- a/parser/htmlparser/src/CNavDTD.cpp
+++ b/parser/htmlparser/src/CNavDTD.cpp
@@ -423,6 +423,14 @@ eAutoDetectResult CNavDTD::AutoDetectContentType(nsString& aBuffer,nsString& aTy
   eAutoDetectResult result=eUnknownDetect;
   if(PR_TRUE==aType.Equals(kHTMLTextContentType)) 
     result=eValidDetect;
+  else {
+    //otherwise, look into the buffer to see if you recognize anything...
+    if(BufferContainsHTML(aBuffer)){
+      result=eValidDetect;
+      if(0==aType.Length())
+        aType=kHTMLTextContentType;
+    }
+  }
   return result;
 }
 
diff --git a/parser/htmlparser/src/nsDTDUtils.h b/parser/htmlparser/src/nsDTDUtils.h
index 07c2b879c1b..6ca2b34cd58 100644
--- a/parser/htmlparser/src/nsDTDUtils.h
+++ b/parser/htmlparser/src/nsDTDUtils.h
@@ -64,6 +64,24 @@ inline PRBool FindTagInSet(PRInt32 aTag,const eHTMLTags aTagSet[],PRInt32 aCount
 }
 
 
+/**
+ * Called from various DTD's to determine the type of data in the buffer...
+ * @update	gess11/20/98
+ * @param 
+ * @return
+ */
+inline PRBool BufferContainsHTML(nsString& aBuffer){
+  PRBool result=PR_FALSE;
+  nsString temp;
+  aBuffer.Left(temp,200);
+  temp.ToLowerCase();
+  if((-1<temp.Find("<html") || (-1<temp.Find("!doctype html public \"-//w3c//dtd html")))) {
+    result=PR_TRUE;
+  }
+  return result;
+}
+
+
 //#define _dynstack 1
 class nsTagStack {
   enum {eStackSize=200};
diff --git a/parser/htmlparser/src/nsParser.cpp b/parser/htmlparser/src/nsParser.cpp
index d6e2150fd6a..a6aa3d887fe 100644
--- a/parser/htmlparser/src/nsParser.cpp
+++ b/parser/htmlparser/src/nsParser.cpp
@@ -43,6 +43,9 @@ static NS_DEFINE_IID(kIParserIID, NS_IPARSER_IID);
 static NS_DEFINE_IID(kIStreamListenerIID, NS_ISTREAMLISTENER_IID);
 
 static const char* kNullURL = "Error: Null URL given";
+static const char* kOnStartNotCalled = "Error: OnStartBinding() must be called before OnDataAvailable()";
+static const char* kOnStopNotCalled  = "Error: OnStopBinding() must be called upon termination of netlib process";
+static const char* kBadListenerInit  = "Error: Parser's IStreamListener API was not setup correctly in constructor.";
 static nsString    kUnknownFilename("unknown");
 static nsString    kEmptyString("unknown");
 
@@ -185,6 +188,7 @@ MakeConversionTable()
  */
 nsParser::nsParser() : mCommand() {
   NS_INIT_REFCNT();
+  mStreamListenerState=eNone;
   mParserFilter = 0;
   mObserver = 0;
   mSink=0;
@@ -205,6 +209,7 @@ nsParser::~nsParser() {
   NS_IF_RELEASE(mObserver);
   NS_RELEASE(mSink);
 
+  NS_POSTCONDITION(eOnStop==mStreamListenerState,kOnStopNotCalled);
   //don't forget to add code here to delete 
   //what may be several contexts...
   delete mParserContext;
@@ -409,10 +414,12 @@ eAutoDetectResult nsParser::AutoDetectContentType(nsString& aBuffer,nsString& aT
   nsDequeIterator e=gSharedParserObjects.mDTDDeque.End(); 
 
   mParserContext->mAutoDetectStatus=eUnknownDetect;
-  while((b<e) && (eUnknownDetect==mParserContext->mAutoDetectStatus)){
+  while(b<e){
     nsIDTD* theDTD=(nsIDTD*)b.GetCurrent();
     if(theDTD) {
       mParserContext->mAutoDetectStatus=theDTD->AutoDetectContentType(aBuffer,aType);
+      if(eValidDetect==mParserContext->mAutoDetectStatus)
+        break;
     }
     b++;
   } 
@@ -820,9 +827,12 @@ nsParser::OnStatus(nsIURL* aURL, const nsString &aMsg)
  *  @return  error code -- 0 if ok, non-zero if error.
  */
 nsresult nsParser::OnStartBinding(nsIURL* aURL, const char *aSourceType){
+  NS_PRECONDITION((eNone==mStreamListenerState),kBadListenerInit);
+
   if (nsnull != mObserver) {
     mObserver->OnStartBinding(aURL, aSourceType);
   }
+  mStreamListenerState=eOnStart;
   mParserContext->mAutoDetectStatus=eUnknownDetect;
   mParserContext->mDTD=0;
   mParserContext->mSourceType=aSourceType;
@@ -844,7 +854,9 @@ nsresult nsParser::OnDataAvailable(nsIURL* aURL, nsIInputStream *pIStream, PRInt
     mListener->OnDataAvailable(pIStream, length);
   }
 */
+  NS_PRECONDITION(((eOnStart==mStreamListenerState)||(eOnDataAvail==mStreamListenerState)),kOnStartNotCalled);
 
+  mStreamListenerState=eOnDataAvail;  
   if(eInvalidDetect==mParserContext->mAutoDetectStatus) {
     if(mParserContext->mScanner) {
       mParserContext->mScanner->GetBuffer().Truncate();
@@ -902,6 +914,7 @@ nsresult nsParser::OnDataAvailable(nsIURL* aURL, nsIInputStream *pIStream, PRInt
  *  @return  
  */
 nsresult nsParser::OnStopBinding(nsIURL* aURL, PRInt32 status, const nsString& aMsg){
+  mStreamListenerState=eOnStop;
   nsresult result=DidBuildModel(status);
   if (nsnull != mObserver) {
     mObserver->OnStopBinding(aURL, status, aMsg);
diff --git a/parser/htmlparser/src/nsParser.h b/parser/htmlparser/src/nsParser.h
index 3e152fe1645..bf491af9bba 100644
--- a/parser/htmlparser/src/nsParser.h
+++ b/parser/htmlparser/src/nsParser.h
@@ -297,8 +297,9 @@ protected:
     //*********************************************
     // And now, some data members...
     //*********************************************
-
-
+    
+  enum eStreamState {eNone,eOnStart,eOnDataAvail,eOnStop};
+  
     CParserContext*     mParserContext;
     PRInt32             mMajorIteration;
     PRInt32             mMinorIteration;
@@ -309,6 +310,7 @@ protected:
     PRBool              mDTDVerification;
     PRBool              mParserEnabled;
     nsString            mCommand;
+    eStreamState        mStreamListenerState; //this is really only here for debug purposes.
 };
 
 
diff --git a/parser/htmlparser/src/nsViewSourceHTML.cpp b/parser/htmlparser/src/nsViewSourceHTML.cpp
index 3a76eec60ed..da7a01f85b6 100644
--- a/parser/htmlparser/src/nsViewSourceHTML.cpp
+++ b/parser/htmlparser/src/nsViewSourceHTML.cpp
@@ -227,10 +227,10 @@ PRBool CViewSourceHTML::CanParse(nsString& aContentType, nsString& aCommand, PRI
 
 
 /**
- * 
- * @update	gess7/7/98
+ * This is called to ask the DTD if it recognizes either the aType or data in the buffer.
+ * @update  gess7/7/98
  * @param 
- * @return
+ * @return  detect result
  */
 eAutoDetectResult CViewSourceHTML::AutoDetectContentType(nsString& aBuffer,nsString& aType){
   eAutoDetectResult result=eUnknownDetect;
@@ -238,9 +238,18 @@ eAutoDetectResult CViewSourceHTML::AutoDetectContentType(nsString& aBuffer,nsStr
     result=eValidDetect;
   else if(PR_TRUE==aType.Equals(kXMLTextContentType)) 
     result=eValidDetect;
+  else {
+    //otherwise, look into the buffer to see if you recognize anything...
+    if(BufferContainsHTML(aBuffer)){
+      result=eValidDetect;
+      if(0==aType.Length())
+        aType=kHTMLTextContentType;
+    }
+  }
   return result;
 }
 
+
 /**
  * 
  * @update	gess5/18/98