Network Working Group Michael D. Kudlick
RFC# 453 SRI-ARC
NIC # 14317 February 7, 1973
Meeting Announcement to Discuss a Network Mail System
Purpose
The purpose of this RFCis to announce a meeting at SRI-ARC on the
Network Mail problem discussed at the January 1973 Principal
Investigators' Meeting in San Diego.
We have set the meeting for Thursday, February 22, 1973, at 8:30 AM in
the SRI-ARC conference room. If a second day is is needed, Friday would
be used.
The agenda will include a discussion of the problem, and a discussion of
alternate solutions.
The goal of the meeting is to prodUCe a clear definition of what the
solution ought to be, what steps have to be taken, and who should do
what.
The results of the meeting will be published as an RFCfor further
dialogue, as is done with other suggested protocols.
ASPects of the Problem
There are already several subsystems existing on the Network whose
function is to send and receive mail.
The principal problem is to coordinates and extend these subsystems so
that
a. uniform user and site identifications are used,
b. the File Transfer Protocol is utilized to allow mail to be
originated and distributed anywhere on the Network without
having to go through a central system.
c. there is an option for the sender to record the dialogue and
have it catalogued for others to read and reference, and
d. There is a way to handle mail for TIP users.
A suggestion made in the past to have a typewriter type terminal
permanently attached to TIP's to record all hardcopy messages
directed to that TIP should be reviewed.
We (SRI-ARC) have been looking into the problem of using the File
Transfer Protocol to allow NIC Journal mail to be sent and delivered
over the Network, without the user having to know and use NLS. We
intend to integrate this function with the Tenex SNDMSG capabilities.
For some preliminary internal ARC discussion on this subject, you may be
interested in reading two Journal items, one by Charles Irby (IJOURNAL,
14308,1:w) and the other by Jim White (IJOURNAL, 14312,1:w).
We realize that there are many benefits to this approach, but would
like to have such a scheme fit into an agreed upon Network wide
message and document sending protocol.
Especially important to us is that questions concerning user and
site identification, recorded and unrecorded dialogue, and
coordination among other mail subsystems on the Network, be fully
understood and mutually resolved at the design level before
implementation work proceeds.
We therefore want to discuss these issues at the Network Mail
meeting February 22.
Role of the NIC
In conjunction with the above discussion, we will consider offering the
services of the Network Information Center in three related areas:
to implement and maintain identification files for all network users
and sites;
(These files could be made available in sequential form through
a standard socket so that Network sites could either query them
or periodically oBTain updated copy.)
to record in the NIC Journal that mail which the sender wishes to
have recorded, and to catalogue those items for later reference;
to distribute Journal or message mail through the Network via File
Transfer Protocols if requested;
to provide and use NIC dialogue group identifications, in order to
make it simpler to send items to several persons who had a common
interest.
Network Mail Meeting Logistics
If you or anyone at your site would like to attend the meeting, please
notify Mil Jernigan (MEJ) at SRI-ARC:
phone (415) 326-6200 ext. 4775
If you request it, we will make motel reservations for you.
Signed ... MD Kudlick
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