At 01:15 AM 9/2/98 +0300, Jari Aalto+list.procmail wrote:
|Tue 1998-09-01 Stan Ryckman <stanr(_at_)sunspot(_dot_)tiac(_dot_)net>
list.procmail
|
| While others have addressed formail here, I will add a note on the RFC.
| Nothing in the mail RFCs addresses the storage of multiple messages;
| indeed, the "From " line itself is not part of any RFC, but rather
| a commonly-used line added during mail delivery on many systems.
RFC 2076 mentions that well known format:
http://andrew2.andrew.cmu.edu/rfc/rfc2076.html
...This header is used in the so-
called Unix mailbox format, also
known as Berkely mailbox format
or the MBOX format. This is a
format for storing a set of
messages in a file. A line
beginning with "From " is used to
separate successive messages in
such files.
OK, but right above that it says:
(1) This header should never From not standardized
appear in e-mail being sent, and for use in e-mail
should thus not appear in this
memo. It is however included,
since people often ask about it.
Hmmm. "This memo" is the RFC itself.
But I couldn't find the actual specification nowhere from the web.
Altavista returned 0 results. Amazing!
Well then, let's see what RFC2076 thinks of itself:
Status of this Memo
This memo provides information for the Internet community. This
memo does not specify an Internet standard of any kind.
Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
i.e., RFC2076 is not a specification. Quite possibly, you didn't find an
actual specification for "From " because there isn't one.
There are a number of these "not a standard" RFCs, so it's usually
a good idea to look at the top to see whether it's a standards document
or somebody's tutorial.
Cheers,
Stan