HTTP/1.1 200 OK Date: Tue, 09 Apr 2002 10:41:48 GMT Server: Apache/1.3.20 (Unix) Last-Modified: Sat, 07 Sep 1996 22:00:00 GMT ETag: "361d5d-1f7b-3231f060" Accept-Ranges: bytes Content-Length: 8059 Connection: close Content-Type: text/plain Network Working Group Jacob Palme Internet Draft Stockholm University/KTH Sweden Category: Proposed standard September 1996 Expires March 1997 The auto-submitted e-mail header field Status of this Memo This document is an Internet-Draft. Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups. Note that other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet-Drafts. Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use Internet- Drafts as reference material or to cite them other than as ``work in progress.'' To learn the current status of any Internet-Draft, please check the ``1id-abstracts.txt'' listing contained in the Internet- Drafts Shadow Directories on ftp.is.co.za (Africa), nic.nordu.net (Europe), munnari.oz.au (Pacific Rim), ds.internic.net (US East Coast), or ftp.isi.edu (US West Coast). This memo provides information for the Internet community. This memo does not specify an Internet standard of any kind, since this document is mainly a compilation of information taken from other RFC-s.. Distribution of this memo is unlimited. Abstract This memo introduces a new e-mail (RFC 822) header field with the name Auto-Submitted. Temporary comment This paper was submitted in March 1995. The issue at that time seemed to be so controversial, that I let it expire. However, recently interest has grown again for this issue, since sendmail has implemented some kind of autosubmitted feature, so I submit it again now. Palme [Page 1] Internet draft The auto-submitted e-mail header field March 1995 1. Introduction This memo introduces a news header field for Internet e-mail (RFC 822) with the name "Auto-Submitted". 2. Auto-Submitted Syntax: auto-submitted-field = "Auto-Submitted ":" auto-submitted-entry auto-submitted-entry = auto-submitted ( *DIGIT / "NOLIMIT" ) auto-submitted = "no" / "auto-generated" / "auto-replied" / "auto-forwarded" This field indicates whether the message was sent with or without explicit human control. The value "no" indicates that this message was sent with explicit human action. The absence of this header field indicates that information is not available as to whether this message was sent with or without explicit human control. This means that also other means of prevention of loops is necessary, such as making the SMTP-sender null for messages from mail servers and vacation servers. This will be handled more fully in separate recommendations for mail servers and vacation servers. The optional number (*DIGIT) can be used for loop control. A mail server, when receiving a message with such a number in the auto- submitted field, should decrement the field by 1, and use the new number in the auto-submitted field when replying to the message. If the number gets decremented below 0, no reply should be generated by the mail server. The default value when no such number is given, is 0, which decrements to -1, so no new automatic replies should be generated by mail servers and vacation servers on incoming auto- submitted messages with this number omitted. The value "NOLIMIT" instead of *DIGIT specifies a large number which is not to be decremented, and can be used to disable this loop control feature if needed. In such cases, other protocol features for loop control should of course be used. The "auto-forwarded" alternative is only to be used when the forwarded message is embedded as a MIME [5] message object. Other types of automatic forwarding, such as mailing-list forwarding or redirection of mail to a new e-mail address for the recipient, will just copy any auto-submitted field in the incoming message and not write any such field of its own. Note 1: A similar header field is defined in X.420 [4]. Palme [Page 2] Internet draft The auto-submitted e-mail header field March 1995 3. Relation to NOTIFY ESTMP command Any request in an ESTMP NOTIFY command overrides the auto-submitted heading field in controlling the production of notifications. If, however, no ESTMP NOTIFY command is given for a specific recipients, then the auto-submitted heading can control whether notifications are to be produced. 4. Examples 4.1 Auto-Submitted: no > Ordinary e-mail messages written by a person. > A person interacts with a mail-generating client, e.g. instructs it to join a mailing list, and the client generates a message to a listserver with commands for subscribing to the list. > A person interacts with a World Wide Web form, such that the filled-in form is automatically sent to an e-mail address specified in the WWW form document. > A moderator accepts messages to a moderated group, and forwards the accepted messages to the group members, possibly merged into a digest by software for producing digests. 4.2 Auto-Submitted: auto-generated > An automatic weather-station sends automatic messages with temperature, wind velocity etc. > An automatic computer process sends failure reports. > An automatic vote counter counts incoming votes and reports on the outcome of the vote. > A subscription service sends copies of a file every time the file is updated to people subscribing to such updates. If the subscription server wants notifications when the recipient address is faulty, it can either use the NOTIFY ESMTP command, or the "Auto-Submitted: auto-generated 1" heading field. 4.3 Auto-Submitted: auto-replied > A mail server responds to an incoming request message. > A notification, such as a delivery or non-delivery notification, is produced in response to a message. > A vacation server sends a vacation message in response to an incoming message to the person who is on vacation. Palme [Page 3] Internet draft The auto-submitted e-mail header field March 1995 > A non-standard type of notification is produced automatically, e.g. a notification that a message has been purged from the recipient mailbox. 4.4 Auto-Submitted: auto-forwarded > An automatic digester combines all messages arriving on a certain day and forwards them to a list. 5. Security considerations "Auto-submitted:" raises no new security concerns, instead, it reduces the risk to security of certain kinds of infinite loops. 6. References [1] D. Crocker: "Standard for the format of ARPA Internet text messages." STD 11, RFC 822, August 1982. [2] S. Hardcastle-Kille: "Mapping between X.400(1988) / ISO 10021 and RFC 822", RFC 1327 May 1992. [3] ISO/ITU: "Message Handling Systems", ISO international standard 10021, ITU recommendation X.400. [4] ISO/ITU: "Message Handling Systems, Part 7: Interpersonal Messaging System, ISO international standard 10021-7, ITU recommendation X.420. [5] N. Borenstein, N. Freed: "MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions)", RFC 1521, September 1993. 7. Author's address Jacob Palme Phone: +46-8-16 16 67 Stockholm University/KTH Fax: +46-8-703 90 25 (not fast) Electrum 230 E-mail: jpalme@dsv.su.se S-164 40 Kista, Sweden Palme [Page 4]