RFC 2298 (rfc2298) - Page 2 of 28

An Extensible Message Format for Message Disposition Notifications

RFC 2298           Message Disposition Notifications          March 1998


Table of Contents

   1.   Introduction ............................................  2
   2.   Requesting Message Disposition Notifications ............  3
   3.   Format of a Message Disposition Notification ............  7
   4.   Timeline of events ...................................... 17
   5.   Conformance and Usage Requirements ...................... 18
   6.   Security Considerations ................................. 19
   7.   Collected Grammar ....................................... 20
   8.   Guidelines for Gatewaying MDNs .......................... 22
   9.   Example ................................................. 24
   10.  IANA Registration Forms ................................. 25
   11.  Acknowledgments ......................................... 26
   12.  References .............................................. 26
   13.  Author's Address ........................................ 27
   14.  Copyright ............................................... 28

1.  Introduction

   This memo defines a MIME content-type [5] for message disposition
   notifications (MDNs).  An MDN can be used to notify the sender of a
   message of any of several conditions that may occur after successful
   delivery, such as display of the message contents, printing of the
   message, deletion (without display) of the message, or the
   recipient's refusal to provide MDNs.  The "message/disposition-
   notification" content-type defined herein is intended for use within
   the framework of the "multipart/report" content type defined in RFC
   1892 [7].

   This memo defines the format of the notifications and the RFC 822
   headers used to request them.

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
   document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119.

1.1 Purposes

   The MDNs defined in this memo are expected to serve several purposes:

   (a)  Inform human beings of the disposition of messages after
        succcessful delivery, in a manner which is largely independent
        of human language;

   (b)  Allow mail user agents to keep track of the disposition of
        messages sent, by associating returned MDNs with earlier message
        transmissions;




Fajman                      Standards Track