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        STD 53:
        RFC 1939:

        Title:      Post Office Protocol - Version 3
        Author:     J. Myers & M. Rose
        Date:       May 1996
        Mailbox:    jgm+@cmu.edu, mrose@dbc.mtview.ca.us
        Pages:      23
        Characters: 47,018
        Obsoletes:  1725

        URL:        ftp://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc1939.txt


On certain types of smaller nodes in the Internet it is often
impractical to maintain a message transport system (MTS).  For
example, a workstation may not have sufficient resources (cycles, disk
space) in order to permit a SMTP server [RFC821] and associated local
mail delivery system to be kept resident and continuously running.
Similarly, it may be expensive (or impossible) to keep a personal
computer interconnected to an IP-style network for long amounts of
time (the node is lacking the resource known as "connectivity").
Despite this, it is often very useful to be able to manage mail on
these smaller nodes, and they often support a user agent (UA) to aid
the tasks of mail handling.  To solve this problem, a node which can
support an MTS entity offers a maildrop service to these less endowed
nodes.  The Post Office Protocol - Version 3 (POP3) is intended to
permit a workstation to dynamically access a maildrop on a server host
in a useful fashion.  Usually, this means that the POP3 protocol is
used to allow a workstation to retrieve mail that the server is
holding for it.

This is now a Standard Protocol.

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.

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Joyce K. Reynolds
USC/Information Sciences Institute