RFC 453 (rfc453) - Page 2 of 3
Meeting announcement to discuss a network mail system
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
RFC 453 Meeting to Discuss a Network Mail System February 1973 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. Kudlick
