ietf-822
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: rfc2822bis: "originator of the message" and "transmitter" not defined

2008-01-15 18:08:49

On 1/16/08 at 12:28 AM +0100, Mark Martinec wrote:

 > 3.6.2.
 [...]
    The originator fields indicate the mailbox(es) of the source of the
    message.  The "From:" field specifies the author(s) of the message,
    that is, the mailbox(es) of the person(s) or system(s) responsible
    for the writing of the message.  The "Sender:" field specifies the
    mailbox of the agent responsible for the actual transmission of the
    message.  For example, if a secretary were to send a message for
    another person, the mailbox of the secretary would appear in the
    "Sender:" field and the mailbox of the actual author would appear in
    the "From:" field.  If the originator of the message can be indicated
                                ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    by a single mailbox and the author and transmitter are identical, the
                                            ^^^^^^^^^^^
    "Sender:" field SHOULD NOT be used.  Otherwise, both fields SHOULD
    appear.

In this paragraph a term "originator of the message" is used for the first and the only time, and is nowhere defined. Other text only speaks of "originator fields" (= From, Sender, Reply-To).

Also, the term "transmitter" is used here for the first time too, and is never defined.

You are getting into territory where I feel like you're trying to overstate the obvious, and I can't figure out what problem you're trying to solve.

"The originator" of the message is the entity or entities specified in the originator fields.

"The transmitter" of the message is the entity responsible for transmitting the message.

It seems redundant to say those things.

The originator might be one entity (who is both the author and the transmitter and specified in the "From:" field), or the originator might be one or more authors (specified in the "From:" field) plus a separate transmitter (specified in the "Sender:" field).

Is there something in the above that you can not glean from 3.6.2? And what problem are we trying to solve by attempting to overtly define these terms in this very circular way?

pr
--
Pete Resnick <http://www.qualcomm.com/~presnick/>
Qualcomm Incorporated - Direct phone: (858)651-4478, Fax: (858)651-1102

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>