Re: OCP/SMTP, /MAIL, or /MIME profile?

Alex,
the work should not only be done for current messaging, but for future 
systems.
There are two things you may want to modify with an OPES:
- the content - and this is protocol transparent
- the addresses. Like changing a name from ascii to chinese.

I am no specialist of SMTP either, but I do not see how you can change the 
address and not resend the mail in a way or another. This is not an OPES 
since the modified data would not come back.

So, apparently you are right, this can only be work on the content.
jfc



On 08:17 28/06/04, Alex Rousskov said:



>On Thu, 10 Jun 2004, Markus Hofmann wrote:
>
> > The OCP/SMTP profile item seems pretty clear. Any specific things
> > that need to be considered when phrasing a charter item on that?
>
>I am not an SMTP/IMAP/POP/etc expert, unfortunately. Perhaps due to my
>lack of in-depth understanding of all these "e-mail" protocols, I
>wonder whether a more general "mail" or even MIME profile should be
>considered for OCP _instead of_ SMTP profile.
>
>In OCP/HTTP we tried very hard to keep most HTTP-level protocol
>interactions away from OCP. For example, OCP/HTTP does not know about
>[persistent] HTTP connections. OCP/HTTP works on individual HTTP
>messages, leaving the actual HTTP "state" out of scope.
>
>I suspect we can do a similar trick with SMTP. Then, it may be
>possible to use the same profile for other protocols that deliver
>e-mail or even any MIME messages. Just like OCP/HTTP focuses on an
>HTTP message, OCP/MAIL would focus on an e-mail (MIME?) message and
>will be applicable to SMTP/IMAP/POP/etc. protocols. We may have to
>treat tracing and bypass specially, but that would still be easy.
>
>Are SMTP/IMAP/POP/etc. protocols similar enough from mail adaptation
>point of view? Does even more general MIME adaptation make sense?
>
>Note that I am not looking for more work for the WG. I am just trying
>do understand whether we can cover more protocols with essentially the
>same amount of work if we extend scope from SMTP to other mail
>protocols or even to MIME in general.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Alex.
>
>P.S. HTTP messages are almost MIME messages, but there are a few
>      important differences that make it difficult to handle an HTTP
>      message as just a MIME message. Is that true for SMTP and other
>      e-mail protocols? Do they "modify" MIME, each in its own
>      special way?