diplodocus.org Git - nmh/blob - man/mh-mail.man

   1 .TH MH-MAIL %manext5% 2014-01-08 "%nmhversion%"
   2 .
   3 .\" %nmhwarning%
   4 .
   5 .SH NAME
   6 mh-mail \- message format for nmh message system
   7 .SH DESCRIPTION
   8 .B nmh
   9 processes messages in a particular format.  It should be noted
  10 that although neither Bell nor Berkeley mailers produce message files
  11 in the format that
  12 .B nmh
  13 prefers,
  14 .B nmh
  15 can read message files in that format.
  16 .PP
  17 Each user possesses a mail drop which initially receives all messages
  18 processed by
  19 .BR post .
  20 .B inc
  21 will read from that mail drop and incorporate new messages found there
  22 into the user's own mail folders (typically
  23 .RI \*(lq +inbox \*(rq).
  24 The mail drop consists of one or more messages.
  25 .PP
  26 Messages are expected to consist of lines of text.  Graphics and binary
  27 data are not handled.  No data compression is accepted.  All text is
  28 clear ASCII 7-bit data.
  29 .PP
  30 The general \*(lqmemo\*(rq framework of RFC 822 is used.  A message
  31 consists of a block of information in a rigid format, followed by
  32 general text with no specified format.  The rigidly formatted first
  33 part of a message is called the header, and the free-format portion is
  34 called the body.  The header must always exist, but the body is optional.
  35 These parts are separated by an empty line, i.e., two consecutive newline
  36 characters.  Within
  37 .BR nmh ,
  38 the header and body may be separated by a line consisting of dashes:
  39 .PP
  40 .RS 5
  41 .nf
  42 From: Local Mailbox <user@example.com>
  43 To:
  44 cc:
  45 Fcc: +outbox
  46 Subject:
  47 .fi
  48 .RE
  49 .PP
  50 The header is composed of one or more header items.  Each header item can
  51 be viewed as a single logical line of ASCII characters.  If the text of
  52 a header item extends across several real lines, the continuation lines
  53 are indicated by leading spaces or tabs.
  54 .PP
  55 Each header item is called a component and is composed of a keyword or
  56 name, along with associated text.  The keyword begins at the left margin,
  57 may
  58 .I not
  59 contain spaces or tabs, may not exceed 63 characters (as specified
  60 by RFC 822), and is terminated by a colon (`:').  Certain components
  61 (as identified by their keywords) must follow rigidly defined formats
  62 in their text portions.
  63 .PP
  64 The text for most formatted components (e.g., \*(lqDate:\*(rq and
  65 \*(lqMessage\-Id:\*(rq) is produced automatically.  The only ones entered
  66 by the user are address fields such as \*(lqTo:\*(rq, \*(lqcc:\*(rq,
  67 etc.  Internet addresses are assigned mailbox names and host computer
  68 specifications.  The rough format is \*(lqlocal@domain\*(rq, such as
  69 \*(lqMH@UCI\*(rq, or \*(lqMH@UCI\-ICSA.ARPA\*(rq.  Multiple addresses
  70 are separated by commas.  A missing host/domain is assumed to be the
  71 local host/domain.
  72 .PP
  73 As mentioned above, a blank line (or a line of dashes) signals that all
  74 following text up to the end of the file is the body.  No formatting is
  75 expected or enforced within the body.
  76 .PP
  77 Following is a list of header components that are considered
  78 meaningful to various
  79 .B nmh
  80 programs.
  81 .PP
  82 .BR Date :
  83 .RS 5
  84 Added by
  85 .BR post ,
  86 contains date and time of the message's entry into the mail transport system.
  87 .RE
  88 .PP
  89 .BR From :
  90 .RS 5
  91 This header is filled in by default with the system's idea of the user's local
  92 mailbox.  This can be changed with the
  93 .B Local\-Mailbox
  94 profile entry.
  95 It contains the address of the author or authors (may be more than one if a
  96 \*(lqSender:\*(rq field is present).  For a standard reply (using
  97 .BR repl ),
  98 the reply address is constructed by checking the following headers (in this
  99 order): \*(lqMail-Reply\-To:\*(rq, \*(lqReply\-To:\*(rq, \*(lqFrom:\*(rq,
 100 \*(lqSender:\*(rq.  A \*(lqFrom:\*(rq header MUST exist when the message is
 101 sent to
 102 .BR post,
 103 otherwise the message will be rejected.
 104 .RE
 105 .PP
 106 .BR Envelope\-From :
 107 .RS 5
 108 Used by
 109 .B post
 110 to specify a value for the sender's envelope address to the mail transport
 111 system.  If omitted,
 112 .B post
 113 will use the value of the \*(lqSender:\*(rq or the \*(lqFrom:\*(rq header.
 114 See
 115 .IR send (1)
 116 for more details.
 117 .RE
 118 .PP
 119 .BR Mail\-Reply\-To :
 120 .RS 5
 121 For a standard reply (using
 122 .BR repl ),
 123 the reply address is constructed by checking the following headers
 124 (in this order): \*(lqMail-Reply\-To:\*(rq, \*(lqReply\-To:\*(rq,
 125 \*(lqFrom:\*(rq, \*(lqSender:\*(rq.
 126 .RE
 127 .PP
 128 .BR Mail\-Followup\-To :
 129 .RS 5
 130 When making a \*(lqgroup\*(rq reply (using
 131 .B repl
 132 .BR \-group ),
 133 any addresses in this field will take precedence, and no other reply address
 134 will be added to the draft.  If this header is not available, then the
 135 return addresses will be constructed from the \*(lqMail-Reply\-To:\*(rq,
 136 or \*(lqReply\-To:\*(rq, or \*(lqFrom:\*(rq, along with adding the
 137 addresses from the headers \*(lqTo:\*(rq, \*(lqcc:\*(rq, as well as
 138 adding your personal address.
 139 .RE
 140 .PP
 141 .BR Reply\-To :
 142 .RS 5
 143 For a standard reply (using
 144 .BR repl ),
 145 the reply address is
 146 constructed by checking the following headers (in this order):
 147 \*(lqMail-Reply\-To:\*(rq, \*(lqReply\-To:\*(rq, \*(lqFrom:\*(rq,
 148 \*(lqSender:\*(rq.
 149 .RE
 150 .PP
 151 .BR Sender :
 152 .RS 5
 153 Required by
 154 .B post
 155 in the event that the message has multiple addresses on the
 156 \*(lqFrom:\*(rq line.  It is otherwise optional.  This line should
 157 contain the address of the actual sender.
 158 .RE
 159 .PP
 160 .BR To :
 161 .RS 5
 162 Contains addresses of primary recipients.
 163 .RE
 164 .PP
 165 .BR cc :
 166 .RS 5
 167 Contains addresses of secondary recipients.
 168 .RE
 169 .PP
 170 .BR Bcc :
 171 .RS 5
 172 Still more recipients.  However, the \*(lqBcc:\*(rq line is not
 173 copied onto the message as delivered, so these recipients are not
 174 listed.
 175 .B nmh
 176 uses an encapsulation method for blind copies, see
 177 .IR send (1).
 178 .RE
 179 .PP
 180 .BR Dcc :
 181 .RS 5
 182 Still more recipients.  However, the \*(lqDcc:\*(rq line is not
 183 copied onto the messages as delivered.  Recipients on the \*(lqDcc:\*(rq
 184 line receive the same message as recipients on the \*(lqTo:\*(rq and
 185 \*(lqcc:\*(rq lines.  See
 186 .IR send (1)
 187 for more details.
 188 .B Dcc
 189 is not supported with the
 190 .B sendmail/pipe
 191 mail transport method.
 192 .RE
 193 .PP
 194 .BR Fcc :
 195 .RS 5
 196 Causes
 197 .B post
 198 to copy the message into the specified folder for the sender,
 199 if the message was successfully given to the transport system.
 200 .RE
 201 .PP
 202 .BR Message\-ID :
 203 .RS 5
 204 A unique message identifier added by
 205 .B post
 206 if the
 207 .B \-msgid
 208 flag is set.
 209 .RE
 210 .PP
 211 .BR Subject :
 212 .RS 5
 213 Sender's commentary.  It is displayed by
 214 .BR scan .
 215 .RE
 216 .PP
 217 .BR In\-Reply\-To :
 218 .RS 5
 219 A commentary line added by
 220 .B repl
 221 when replying to a message.
 222 .RE
 223 .PP
 224 .BR Resent\-Date :
 225 .RS 5
 226 Added when redistributing a message by
 227 .BR post .
 228 .RE
 229 .PP
 230 .BR Resent\-From :
 231 .RS 5
 232 Used instead of the \*(lqFrom:\*(rq header when
 233 .B post
 234 redistributes a message.  See \*(lqFrom:\*(rq.
 235 .RE
 236 .PP
 237 .BR Resent\-To:
 238 .RS 5
 239 New recipients for a message resent by
 240 .BR dist .
 241 .RE
 242 .PP
 243 .BR Resent\-cc :
 244 .RS 5
 245 Still more recipients.  See \*(lqcc:\*(rq and \*(lqResent\-To:\*(rq.
 246 .RE
 247 .PP
 248 .BR Resent\-Bcc :
 249 .RS 5
 250 Even more recipients.  See \*(lqBcc:\*(rq and \*(lqResent\-To:\*(rq.
 251 .RE
 252 .PP
 253 .BR Resent\-Fcc :
 254 .RS 5
 255 Copy resent message into a folder.
 256 See \*(lqFcc:\*(rq and \*(lqResent\-To:\*(rq.
 257 .RE
 258 .PP
 259 .BR Resent\-Message\-Id :
 260 .RS 5
 261 A unique identifier glued on by
 262 .B post
 263 if the
 264 .B \-msgid
 265 flag is set.
 266 See \*(lqMessage\-Id:\*(rq and \*(lqResent\-To:\*(rq.
 267 .RE
 268 .PP
 269 .BR Resent :
 270 .RS 5
 271 Annotation for
 272 .B dist
 273 under the
 274 .B \-annotate
 275 option.
 276 .RE
 277 .PP
 278 .BR Forwarded :
 279 .RS 5
 280 Annotation for
 281 .B forw
 282 under the
 283 .B \-annotate
 284 option.
 285 .RE
 286 .PP
 287 .BR Replied :
 288 .RS 5
 289 Annotation for
 290 .B repl
 291 under the
 292 .B \-annotate
 293 option.
 294 .RE
 295 .PP
 296 .BR Attach :
 297 .RS 5
 298 Used by
 299 .B mhbuild
 300 to specify a filename to attach to this message.  See
 301 .IR mhbuild (1)
 302 for more information.
 303 .RE
 304 .SH FILES
 305 .TP 20
 306 %mailspool%/$USER
 307 Location of mail drop.
 308 .SH "SEE ALSO"
 309 .I
 310 Standard for the Format of ARPA Internet Text Messages
 311 (RFC 822)
 312 .SH CONTEXT
 313 None