RFC 1894 (rfc1894) - Page 1 of 39

An Extensible Message Format for Delivery Status Notifications

Network Working Group                                           K. Moore
Request for Comments: 1894                       University of Tennessee
Category: Standards Track                                   G. Vaudreuil
                                                  Octel Network Services
                                                            January 1996


     An Extensible Message Format for Delivery Status Notifications

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.

Abstract

   This memo defines a MIME content-type that may be used by a message
   transfer agent (MTA) or electronic mail gateway to report the result
   of an attempt to deliver a message to one or more recipients.  This
   content-type is intended as a machine-processable replacement for the
   various types of delivery status notifications currently used in
   Internet electronic mail.

   Because many messages are sent between the Internet and other
   messaging systems (such as X.400 or the so-called "LAN-based"
   systems), the DSN protocol is designed to be useful in a multi-
   protocol messaging environment.  To this end, the protocol described
   in this memo provides for the carriage of "foreign" addresses and
   error codes, in addition to those normally used in Internet mail.
   Additional attributes may also be defined to support "tunneling" of
   foreign notifications through Internet mail.

   Any questions, comments, and reports of defects or ambiguities in
   this specification may be sent to the mailing list for the NOTARY
   working group of the IETF, using the address
   [email protected]>.  Requests to subscribe to the mailing
   list should be addressed to [email protected]>.
   Implementors of this specification are encouraged to subscribe to the
   mailing list, so that they will quickly be informed of any problems
   which might hinder interoperability.

   NOTE: This document is a Proposed Standard.  If and when this
   protocol is submitted for Draft Standard status, any normative text
   (phrases containing SHOULD, SHOULD NOT, MUST, MUST NOT, or MAY) in
   this document will be re-evaluated in light of implementation



Moore & Vaudreuil           Standards Track