Abstract: Methods and systems for determining whether to compress computer communications are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method includes examining at least one of a request characteristic of the communication request and a response characteristic of the uncompressed responsive communication, the request characteristic of the communication request being other than an “accept-encoding” header, and applying one or more rules to the at least one of the request characteristic and the response characteristic. Each of the one or more rules provides a compressibility assessment. Based on the one or more compressibility assessments, the method then determines whether to compress the responsive communication prior to transmittal to the requester.