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Diffstat (limited to 'doc/rfc/rfc561.txt')
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diff --git a/doc/rfc/rfc561.txt b/doc/rfc/rfc561.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5223459 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/rfc/rfc561.txt @@ -0,0 +1,176 @@ + + RFC # 561 Abhay Bhushan (AKB) MIT-DMCG + NIC # 18516 Ken Pogran (KP) MIT-MULTICS + Ray Tomlinson (RST) BBN-TENEX + Jim White (JEW) SRI-ARC + 5 September 73 + + + Standardizing Network Mail Headers + + + + + One of the deficiences of the current FTP mail protocol is that + it makes no provision for the explicit specification of such + header information as author, title, and date. Many systems + send that information, but each in a different format. One + fairly serious result of this lack of standardization is that + it's next to impossible for a system or user program to + intelligently process incoming mail. + + Although the long-term solution to the problem is probably to + add commands for specifying such information to the mail + protocol command space (as suggested in RFC 524 -- 17140,), we + hereby propose a more quickly implemented solution for the + interim. + + We suggest that the text of network mail, whether transmitted + over the FTP telnet connection (via the MAIL command) or over a + separate data connection (with the MLFL command), be governed by + the syntax below: + + Example: + + From: White at SRI-ARC + Date: 24 JUL 1973 1527-PDT + Subject: Multi-Site Journal Meeting Announcement + NIC: 17996 + + At 10 AM Wednesday 25-JULY there will be a meeting + to discuss a Multi-Site Journal in the context of + the Utility. Y'all be here. + + Formal Syntax: + + <mailtext> ::= <header> <CRLF> <message> + <header> ::= <headeritem> ! <headeritem> <header> + <headeritem> ::= <item> <CRLF> + <item> ::= <authoritem> ! <dateitem> ! + <subjectitem> ! <miscitem> + + + + + + 1 + NWG/RFC# 561 AKB KP RST JEW 5-SEP-73 11:19 18516 + Standardizing Network Mail Headers RFC 561 / NIC 18516 + + + + <authoritem> ::= FROM: <SP> <user> <SP> AT <SP> <host> + <dateitem> ::= DATE: <SP> <date> <SP> <time> - <zone> + <subjectitem> ::= SUBJECT: <SP> <line> + <miscitem> ::= <keyword> : <SP> <line> + <date> ::= <vdate> ! <tdate> + <vdate> ::= <dayofmonth> <SP> <vmonth> <SP> <vyear> + + <tdate> ::= <tmonth> / <dayofmonth> / <tyear> + <dayofmonth> ::= one or two decimal digits + <vmonth> ::= JAN ! FEB ! MAR ! APR ! MAY ! JUN ! + JUL ! AUG ! SEP ! OCT ! NOV ! DEC + <tmonth> ::= one or two decimal digits + <vyear> ::= four decimal digits + <tyear> ::= two decimal digits + <zone> ::= EST ! EDT ! CST ! CDT ! MST ! MDT ! + PST ! PDT ! GMT ! GDT + <time> ::= four decimal digits + <user> ::= <word> + <host> ::= a standard host name + <message> ::= <line> <CRLF> ! <line> <CRLF> <message> + + <keyword> ::= <word> + <line> ::= a string containing any of the 128 ASCII + characters except CR and LF + <word> ::= a string containing any of the 128 ASCII + characters except CR, LF, and SP + <CRLF> ::= CR LF + <SP> ::= space + + Please note the following: + + (1) <authoritem>, <dateitem>, and <subjectitem> may each + appear at most once in <header>; <miscitem> may occur any + number of times. The order of <authoritem>, <dateitem>, + and <subjectitem> is insignificant, but they must proceed + all occurrences of <miscitem>. + (2) The case (upper or lower) of keywords -- specifically, + 'FROM', 'DATE', 'SUBJECT' ,'AT', <host>, <zone>, <vmonth> + and <keyword> -- is insignificant. Although 'FROM', for + example, appears in upper-case in the formal syntax above, + in the header of an actual message it may appear as 'From' + (as in the example), or 'from', or 'FrOm', etc. + (3) No attempt has been made to legislate the format of + <user>, except to exclude spaces from it. + (4) The time has no internal punctuation. + (5) No provision is made for multiple authors. + + We recommend that mail-sending subsystems which prefix header + information to the text of the user's message be modified + + + + + + 2 + NWG/RFC# 561 AKB KP RST JEW 5-SEP-73 11:19 18516 + Standardizing Network Mail Headers RFC 561 / NIC 18516 + + + + appropriately, and that other hosts recommend the above + conventions to their users. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 3 + |