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8.6 KiB
HTML
244 lines
8.6 KiB
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<HTML>
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<HEAD>
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<TITLE>New control lines for forwarded messages.</TITLE>
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</HEAD>
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<!-- Background white, links blue (unvisited), navy (visited), red (active) -->
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<BODY
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BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"
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TEXT="#000000"
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LINK="#0000FF"
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VLINK="#000080"
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ALINK="#FF0000"
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>
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<PRE>
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| Document: FSC-0092
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| Version: 001
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| Date: September 12th 1996
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| Author: Michael Hohner
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New control lines
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for forwarded messages
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by
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Michael Hohner
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2:2490/2520.17
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September 1996
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Status of this document:
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This document proposes a standard for the Fidonet(tm) community
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and for other networks using Fido technology. It may be freely
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distributed if unchanged.
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You can reach the author at one of the addresses listed at the end
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of the document.
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Abstract:
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Most fidonet message editors offer a "forward" function. Using
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this function a user A can sort of "redirect" a message from user B
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to another user C, maybe because A is not the correct recipient or
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because C is a better person to answer the message. The name and
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address of B are usually included in the forward in free-text format.
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The message text is included in non-quoted format.
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A problem arises when the final recipient C wants to reply to sender B
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of the forwarded message. The forward contains the intermediate user A
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as the sender. So user C must insert the name and address of B
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manually, using the information contained in the message text. The
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message editor of C can't do this automatically because of the
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free-text format. The editor will also use incorrect quote initials,
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which is at least irritating.
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This document introduces 6 new control lines which contain the header
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information of the original message. With these control lines the
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message editor can use the original header information automatically.
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Specifications:
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There are 7 new control lines: FWDFROM, FWDTO, FWDORIG, FWDDEST,
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FWDSUBJ, FWDAREA, FWDMSGID. As all control lines they start with an
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ASCII 01 character followed by the control line name followed by
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whitespace followed by the control line's content followed by ASCII 13.
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Please note that all these control lines do not have a colon (like the
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control lines in FTS-0001). This would be just waste of space.
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FWDFROM
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-------
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This control line contains the name of the original sender as found in
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the FROM field of the original message. Leading and trailing
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whitespace should be removed. This control line should be omitted
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altogether if the FROM field is empty.
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FWDTO
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-----
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This control line contains the name of the original recipient as found
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in the TO field of the original message. Leading and trailing
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whitespace should be removed. This control line should be omitted
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altogether if the TO field is empty.
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FWDORIG
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-------
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This control line contains the address of the original sender as found
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in the ORIG field of the original message. The usual 5D ASCII notation
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(zone:net/node.point@domain) should be used. This control line should
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be omitted altogether if the address is not known.
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FWDDEST
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-------
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This control line contains the address of the original recipient as
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found in the DEST field of the original message. The usual 5D ASCII
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notation (zone:net/node.point@domain) should be used. This control line
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should be omitted altogether if the address is not known or unsure
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(as it is the case with forwarded echomail messages).
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FWDSUBJ
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-------
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This control line contains the subject line of the original message.
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This control line should be omitted altogether if the SUBJ field is
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empty.
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This control line should by made optional for security reasons. Echo
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manager passwords are too easily revealed with it.
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FWDAREA
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-------
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This control line contains the name of the echomail area where the
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original message was forwarded from. It should be omitted altogether
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if the original message was not forwarded from an echomail area.
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FWDMSGID
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--------
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This control line contains the MSGID control line of the original
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message. It should be omitted altogether if a MSGID control line is not
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present in the original message.
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Usage:
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When the "forward" function of the message editor is invoked, the
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editor program should generate the proposed control lines from the
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header of the original message. If the original message already was
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a forwarded one (indicated by the presence of at least a FWDORIG
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control line), the editor should keep all FWD* control lines and should
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not add any FWD* control lines. This preserves the FWD* control lines
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of the first forwarder, containing the header data of the author of
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the original message.
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The editor should not generate FWD* control lines, if the message isn't
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to be forwarded. A mail forwarding robot may also generate these
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control lines, if it not just readdresses the message.
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When the "reply" function of the editor is invoked the program should
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use the control lines' contents instead of the header information. The
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control lines should not be included in the reply.
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Since it may not be immediately clear whether the user wants to reply
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to the forwarder or to the original sender, the editor should offer a
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means to ignore the proposed control lines and start a "normal" reply
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instead, e.g. by two distinct functions, user preference or dialog.
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Pseudo code:
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forwarding_message:
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if is_forwarded_message then
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don't change FWD* control lines
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else
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add FWD* control lines
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quoting_message:
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if is_forwarded_message then
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if reply_to_forwarder then
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use header data (normal quoting)
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else
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use FWD* control lines
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remove FWD* control lines from reply
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else
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use header data (normal quoting)
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other_functions:
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remove/ignore FWD* control lines
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Example:
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Message from Joe User to my boss node:
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From: Joe User 1:234/567
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To: Harry Herrmannsdoerfer 2:2490/2520
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Subj: Some questions
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@MSGID: 1:234/567 12345678
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Text: Hello Harry!
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...
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Harry forwards the message to me:
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From: Harry Herrmannsdoerfer 2:2490/2520
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To: Michael Hohner 2:2490/2520.17
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Subj: Joe's message
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@FWDFROM Joe User
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@FWDORIG 1:234/567
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@FWDTO Harry Herrmannsdoerfer
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@FWDDEST 2:2490/2520
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@FWDSUBJ Some questions
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@FWDMSGID 1:234/567 12345678
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Text: Hi Michael!
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...
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My answer using the new control lines:
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From: Michael Hohner 2:2490/2520.17
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To: Joe User 1:234/567
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Subj: Some questions
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@REPLY: 1:234/567 12345678
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Text: Hi Joe!
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JU> ...
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...
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Compatiblity:
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Editor programs which are not prepared for the proposed control lines
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usually just ignore them and remove them from a reply. A reply goes
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to the forwarder. Nothing gained and nothing lost.
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Implementations:
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This proposal is implemented in the author's Fidonet editor
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"FleetStreet for OS/2" (versions 1.17 and above).
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Contacting the author:
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The author may be contacted electronically at the following addresses:
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Fidonet: 2:2490/2520.17
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Internet: miho@osn.de
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CompuServe: 100425,1754
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Suggestions, comments and corrections are always welcome.
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</PRE>
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<A HREF="index.htm"><IMG SRC="../images/b_arrow.gif" ALT="Back" Border="0" width="33" height="35"> Go Back</A>
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</BODY>
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</HTML>
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