rfc2822 April 2001

Network Working Group                                 P. Resnick, Editor
Request for Comments: 2822                         QUALCOMM Incorporated
Obsoletes: 822                                                April 2001
Category: Standards Track


              Internet Message Format

Status of this Memo

   This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
   Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
   improvements.  Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
   Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
   and status of this protocol.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2001).  All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

   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 (RFC) 822, "Standard for the Format of ARPA Internet Text
   Messages", updating it to reflect current practice and incorporating
   incremental changes that were specified in other RFCs.

Table of Contents

   1. Introduction ............................................... 3
   1.1. Scope .................................................... 3
   1.2. Notational conventions ................................... 4
   1.2.1. Requirements notation .................................. 4
   1.2.2. Syntactic notation ..................................... 4
   1.3. Structure of this document ............................... 4
   2. Lexical Analysis of Messages ............................... 5
   2.1. General Description ...................................... 5
   2.1.1. Line Length Limits ..................................... 6
   2.2. Header Fields ............................................ 7
   2.2.1. Unstructured Header Field Bodies ....................... 7
   2.2.2. Structured Header Field Bodies ......................... 7
   2.2.3. Long Header Fields ..................................... 7
   2.3. Body ..................................................... 8
   3. Syntax ..................................................... 9
   3.1. Introduction ............................................. 9
   3.2. Lexical Tokens ........................................... 9
   3.2.1. Primitive Tokens ....................................... 9
   3.2.2. Quoted characters ......................................10
   3.2.3. Folding white space and comments .......................11
   3.2.4. Atom ...................................................12
   3.2.5. Quoted strings .........................................13
   3.2.6. Miscellaneous tokens ...................................13
   3.3. Date and Time Specification ..............................14
   3.4. Address Specification ....................................15
   3.4.1. Addr-spec specification ................................16
   3.5 Overall message syntax ....................................17
   3.6. Field definitions ........................................18
   3.6.1. The origination date field .............................20
   3.6.2. Originator fields ......................................21
   3.6.3. Destination address fields .............................22
   3.6.4. Identification fields ..................................23
   3.6.5. Informational fields ...................................26
   3.6.6. Resent fields ..........................................26
   3.6.7. Trace fields ...........................................28
   3.6.8. Optional fields ........................................29
   4. Obsolete Syntax ............................................29
   4.1. Miscellaneous obsolete tokens ............................30
   4.2. Obsolete folding white space .............................31
   4.3. Obsolete Date and Time ...................................31
   4.4. Obsolete Addressing ......................................33
   4.5. Obsolete header fields ...................................33
   4.5.1. Obsolete origination date field ........................34
   4.5.2. Obsolete originator fields .............................34
   4.5.3. Obsolete destination address fields ....................34
   4.5.4. Obsolete identification fields .........................35
   4.5.5. Obsolete informational fields ..........................35
   4.5.6. Obsolete resent fields .................................35
   4.5.7. Obsolete trace fields ..................................36
   4.5.8. Obsolete optional fields ...............................36
   5. Security Considerations ....................................36
   6. Bibliography ...............................................37
   7. Editor's Address ...........................................38
   8. Acknowledgements ...........................................39
   Appendix A. Example messages ..................................41
   A.1. Addressing examples ......................................41
   A.1.1. A message from one person to another with simple
addressing .............................................41
   A.1.2. Different types of mailboxes ...........................42
   A.1.3. Group addresses ........................................43
   A.2. Reply messages ...........................................43
   A.3. Resent messages ..........................................44
   A.4. Messages with trace fields ...............................46
   A.5. White space, comments, and other oddities ................47
   A.6. Obsoleted forms ..........................................47
   A.6.1. Obsolete addressing ....................................48
   A.6.2. Obsolete dates .........................................48
   A.6.3. Obsolete white space and comments ......................48
   Appendix B. Differences from earlier standards ................49
   Appendix C. Notices ...........................................50
   Full Copyright Statement ......................................51

--- ../s-o-1036/TOC.out          June 1994
+++ ../rfc2822/TOC.out          April 2001
@@ -1,72 +1,103 @@
-            News Article Format and Transmission
-
-                       Henry Spencer
+Network Working Group                                 P. Resnick, Editor
+Request for Comments: 2822                         QUALCOMM Incorporated
+Obsoletes: 822                                                April 2001
+Category: Standards Track
 
 
+              Internet Message Format
 
 Status of this Memo
 
-This  document  is  intended  to  become  an Internet Draft.
-Internet Drafts are working documents of the Internet  Engi-
-neering  Task  Force  (IETF),  its  Areas,  and  its Working
-Groups.  Note that other groups may also distribute  working
-documents as Internet Drafts.
-
-Internet  Drafts  are draft documents valid for a maximum of
-six months.  Internet Drafts may be  updated,  replaced,  or
-obsoleted  by other documents at any time.  It is not appro-
-priate to use Internet Drafts as reference  material  or  to
-cite  them  other  than  as  a  "working  draft" or "work in
-progress".
-
-Please check the I-D  abstract  listing  contained  in  each
-Internet Draft directory to learn the current status of this
-or any other Internet Draft.  (Actually, this  draft  is  at
-too early a stage to even be listed there yet.)
-
-It is hoped that a later version of this Draft will obsolete
-RFC 1036 and will become an Internet standard.
-
-References to the "successor to this  Draft"  refer  not  to
-later  versions  of this draft, but to a hypothetical future
-rewrite of this Draft (in the same way that this Draft is  a
-rewrite of RFC 1036).
+   This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
+   Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
+   improvements.  Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
+   Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
+   and status of this protocol.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
 
-Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
+Copyright Notice
 
+   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2001).  All Rights Reserved.
 
 Abstract
 
-This Draft defines the format and procedures for interchange
-of network news articles.  It is hoped that a later  version
-of this Draft will obsolete RFC 1036, reflecting more recent
-experience and accommodating future directions.
-
-Network news articles resemble mail messages but are  broad-
-cast  to potentially-large audiences, using a flooding algo-
-rithm that propagates one copy to each interested  host  (or
-group thereof), typically stores only one copy per host, and
-does not require any central  administration  or  systematic
-registration  of  interested users.  Network news originated
-as the medium  of  communication  for  Usenet,  circa  1980.
-
-INTERNET DRAFT to be        NEWS                      sec. -
-
-
-Since  then  Usenet has grown explosively, and many Internet
-sites participate in it.  In addition, the  news  technology
-is now in widespread use for other purposes, on the Internet
-and elsewhere.
-
-This Draft primarily codifies and organizes  existing  prac-
-tice.   A few small extensions have been added in an attempt
-to solve problems that are considered serious.  Major exten-
-sions (e.g. cryptographic authentication) that need signifi-
-cant development effort are left to be undertaken  as  inde-
-pendent efforts.
-
+   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 (RFC) 822, "Standard for the Format of ARPA Internet Text
+   Messages", updating it to reflect current practice and incorporating
+   incremental changes that were specified in other RFCs.
 
 Table of Contents
 
-TBW
+   1. Introduction ............................................... 3
+   1.1. Scope .................................................... 3
+   1.2. Notational conventions ................................... 4
+   1.2.1. Requirements notation .................................. 4
+   1.2.2. Syntactic notation ..................................... 4
+   1.3. Structure of this document ............................... 4
+   2. Lexical Analysis of Messages ............................... 5
+   2.1. General Description ...................................... 5
+   2.1.1. Line Length Limits ..................................... 6
+   2.2. Header Fields ............................................ 7
+   2.2.1. Unstructured Header Field Bodies ....................... 7
+   2.2.2. Structured Header Field Bodies ......................... 7
+   2.2.3. Long Header Fields ..................................... 7
+   2.3. Body ..................................................... 8
+   3. Syntax ..................................................... 9
+   3.1. Introduction ............................................. 9
+   3.2. Lexical Tokens ........................................... 9
+   3.2.1. Primitive Tokens ....................................... 9
+   3.2.2. Quoted characters ......................................10
+   3.2.3. Folding white space and comments .......................11
+   3.2.4. Atom ...................................................12
+   3.2.5. Quoted strings .........................................13
+   3.2.6. Miscellaneous tokens ...................................13
+   3.3. Date and Time Specification ..............................14
+   3.4. Address Specification ....................................15
+   3.4.1. Addr-spec specification ................................16
+   3.5 Overall message syntax ....................................17
+   3.6. Field definitions ........................................18
+   3.6.1. The origination date field .............................20
+   3.6.2. Originator fields ......................................21
+   3.6.3. Destination address fields .............................22
+   3.6.4. Identification fields ..................................23
+   3.6.5. Informational fields ...................................26
+   3.6.6. Resent fields ..........................................26
+   3.6.7. Trace fields ...........................................28
+   3.6.8. Optional fields ........................................29
+   4. Obsolete Syntax ............................................29
+   4.1. Miscellaneous obsolete tokens ............................30
+   4.2. Obsolete folding white space .............................31
+   4.3. Obsolete Date and Time ...................................31
+   4.4. Obsolete Addressing ......................................33
+   4.5. Obsolete header fields ...................................33
+   4.5.1. Obsolete origination date field ........................34
+   4.5.2. Obsolete originator fields .............................34
+   4.5.3. Obsolete destination address fields ....................34
+   4.5.4. Obsolete identification fields .........................35
+   4.5.5. Obsolete informational fields ..........................35
+   4.5.6. Obsolete resent fields .................................35
+   4.5.7. Obsolete trace fields ..................................36
+   4.5.8. Obsolete optional fields ...............................36
+   5. Security Considerations ....................................36
+   6. Bibliography ...............................................37
+   7. Editor's Address ...........................................38
+   8. Acknowledgements ...........................................39
+   Appendix A. Example messages ..................................41
+   A.1. Addressing examples ......................................41
+   A.1.1. A message from one person to another with simple
+addressing .............................................41
+   A.1.2. Different types of mailboxes ...........................42
+   A.1.3. Group addresses ........................................43
+   A.2. Reply messages ...........................................43
+   A.3. Resent messages ..........................................44
+   A.4. Messages with trace fields ...............................46
+   A.5. White space, comments, and other oddities ................47
+   A.6. Obsoleted forms ..........................................47
+   A.6.1. Obsolete addressing ....................................48
+   A.6.2. Obsolete dates .........................................48
+   A.6.3. Obsolete white space and comments ......................48
+   Appendix B. Differences from earlier standards ................49
+   Appendix C. Notices ...........................................50
+   Full Copyright Statement ......................................51