RFC 2971 (rfc2971) - Page 2 of 8
IMAP4 ID extension
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
RFC 2971 IMAP4 ID extension October 2000
2. Conventions Used in this Document
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 [KEYWORDS].
The conventions used in this document are the same as specified in
[IMAP4rev1]. In examples, "C:" and "S:" indicate lines sent by the
client and server respectively. Line breaks have been inserted for
readability.
3. Specification
The sole purpose of the ID extension is to enable clients and servers
to exchange information on their implementations for the purposes of
statistical analysis and problem determination.
This information is be submitted to a server by any client wishing to
provide information for statistical purposes, provided the server
advertises its willingness to take the information with the atom "ID"
included in the list of capabilities returned by the CAPABILITY
command.
Implementations MUST NOT make operational changes based on the data
sent as part of the ID command or response. The ID command is for
human consumption only, and is not to be used in improving the
performance of clients or servers.
This includes, but is not limited to, the following:
Servers MUST NOT attempt to work around client bugs by using
information from the ID command. Clients MUST NOT attempt to work
around server bugs based on the ID response.
Servers MUST NOT provide features to a client or otherwise
optimize for a particular client by using information from the ID
command. Clients MUST NOT provide features to a server or
otherwise optimize for a particular server based on the ID
response.
Servers MUST NOT deny access to or refuse service for a client
based on information from the ID command. Clients MUST NOT refuse
to operate or limit their operation with a server based on the ID
response.
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