ietf-dkim
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Re: [ietf-dkim] a protocol needs a payload

2009-02-17 18:57:00


Murray S. Kucherawy wrote:
On Tue, 17 Feb 2009, Jim Fenton wrote:
But -rfc4871-errata-02 defines this backwards.  The erratum makes 
everything else internals, which eliminates a lot of information that 
might be useful to a downstream assessor.  For example:
[...]

Perhaps this is a terminology question.

No, the confusion is much deeper than that.  It's about a protocol layering and 
protocol specification scope.

The fact that upper layers sometimes reach down into lower layer information, 
and the fact that this is sometimes useful, does not eliminate the nature of 
the 
layering or the fact that there is a layering violation.  Protocol layering is 
a 
matter of design discipline, not just terminology.

In this case, it appears that Jim is confusing the sole stated goal of DKIM:

      "permitting a signing domain to claim responsibility for the introduction 
of a message into the mail stream"

with other useful goals.  He's conflating these other goals, such as validation 
of message content, into the DKIM Signing spec, on the theory that someone, 
sometime, might want to do it a variety of yet-to-be-specified functions.

Apparently the feeling is that any constraint in the Signing spec will somehow 
prevent value-add functions that go beyond the spec.

d/
-- 

   Dave Crocker
   Brandenburg InternetWorking
   bbiw.net
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