RFC 2971 (rfc2971) - Page 2 of 8

IMAP4 ID extension

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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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