If you were going to go the whole hog, slap the entire MIME type name in the extension :) Otherwise I don't think 3-4 character file extensions have really let anyone down in the history of computing.
I've only ever seen Windows-based systems adhere strictly to the 3-character extension. All 'Nix's I've worked with (Linux, BSD's, etc) usually have native files on the system with extensions longer than 3 characters. (.conf anyone?)
Also, probably should note, file extensions are largely a Windows-based OS thing as well. On the 'Nix's, an extension isn't really needed (OK, it's not needed on Windows-based OS's either, but the OS prefers it). the "file" command will tell you all you need to know about a file without an extension. Or, you can just open it with a text editor. Or, execute it if it has execute permissions, etc.
So, it seems, the 3-character extension (or extensions at all) are really a Windows-Based OS thing.
(While we're at it, Windows-Based OS's are the only OS's I've worked with that actually require something in-front of the "."! For example, try to natively create a ".somefile" on Windows -- it will complain and not let you).
While it's true that they don't have meaning to the lower levels of the system, file extensions matter a whole lot to the higher-level frameworks and the GUI that ordinary people use.
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