Subject: I-D ACTION:draft-ietf-drums-msg-fmt-03.txt

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 03 Dec 1997 13:20:24 -0500

A New Internet-Draft is available from the on-line Internet-Drafts directories.
This draft is a work item of the Detailed Revision/Update of Message Standards 
Working Group of the IETF.

	Title		: Internet Message Format Standard
	Author(s)	: P. Resnick
	Filename	: draft-ietf-drums-msg-fmt-03.txt
	Pages		: 21
	Date		: 01-Dec-97
	
This standard specifies a syntax for text messages that are sent between
computer users, within the framework of ''electronic mail'' messages. This
standard supersedes the one specified in Request For Comments 822, ''Standard
for the Format of ARPA Internet Text Messages'' [RFC-822], updating it to
reflect current practice and incorporating incremental changes that were
specified in other RFCs.
 
This standard only specifies a syntax for text messages. In particular, it
makes no provision for the transmission of images, audio, or other sorts of
structured data in electronic mail messages. There are several extensions
published, such as the MIME document series [RFC-2045, RFC-2046, RFC-2049],
which describe mechanisms for the transmission of such data through electronic
mail, either by extending the syntax provided here or by structuring such
messages to conform to this syntax. These mechanisms are outside of the scope
of this standard.
 
In the context of electronic mail, messages are viewed as having an envelope
and contents. The envelope contains whatever information is needed to
accomplish transmission and delivery. (See [SMTP] for a discussion of the
envelope.) The contents comprise the object to be delivered to the recipient.
This standard applies only to the format and some of the semantics of message
contents. It contains no specification of the information in the envelope.
 
However, some message systems may use information from the contents to create
the envelope. It is intended that this standard facilitate the acquisition of
such information by programs.
 
Some message systems may store messages in formats that differ from the one
specified in this standard. This specification is intended strictly as a
definition of what message content format is to be passed BETWEEN hosts.
 
Note: This standard is NOT intended to dictate the internal formats used by
sites, the specific message system features that they are expected to support,
or any of the characteristics of user interface programs that create or read
messages. In addition, this standard does not specify an encoding of the
characters for either transport or storage; that is, it does not specify the
number of bits used or how those bits are specifically transferred over the
wire or stored on disk.

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