IMAPEXT Working Group                                        A. Melnikov
Internet Draft                                                Isode Ltd.
Document: draft-melnikov-imap-postaddress-05               November 2006
Expires: May 2007

                          IMAP4 POSTADDRESS extension

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Abstract

    The POSTADDRESS extension of the Internet Message Access
    Protocol [IMAP4] permits a client to discover an email address
    that can be used to send messages to an IMAP mailbox.


1.   Conventions Used in this Document

    In examples, "C:" and "S:" indicate lines sent by the client and
    server respectively.

    In all examples "/" character is used as hierarchy separator.

    The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
    "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
    document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119 [KEYWORDS].


2.   Introduction and Overview

    IMAP POSTADDRESS extension can be used to discover an email address
    for a given IMAP mailbox. Many email clients support saving a copy
    of an outgoing message in "sent messages" or "outbox" mailbox.
    Typically, those email clients send the message first using SMTP.
    After that they upload a copy of the message using IMAP APPEND.
    Effectively, the message is sent twice: once using SMTP and once
    using IMAP. If the IMAP server supports the POSTADDRESS extension,
    the mail client can avoid uploading a copy of the message using
    IMAP APPEND. This can be achieved by specifying an additional
    SMTP recipient, returned by LIST RETURN (POSTADDRESS) command,
    during submission.

    A server that supports POSTADDRESS parameter to the LIST command
    MUST return "POSTADDRESS" in its capability response.
    Any server supporting the POSTADDRESS extension defined in this
    document MUST also support the LIST-EXTENDED extension defined
    in [LISTEXT].


3. LIST command with the POSTADDRESS parameter

    This document defines a new return option POSTADDRESS to the
    extended LIST command [LISTEXT] that requests the server to return
    an email address that can be used to post email to a mailbox
    returned by the LIST command. The POSTADDRESS return option causes
    the server to return the LIST response with the POSTADDRESS
    information (see section 4).

    If posting to the mailbox is not allowed or not supported the server
    MUST return NIL. For example, if the server also supports [ACL]
    extension and if the user that is issuing LIST RETURN (POSTADDRESS)
    is not granted the "p" right on the mailbox (the "p" right might be
    granted to the user directly, or through one of the groups the user
    belongs to, e.g. it may be granted to the "anonymous"), the extended
    LIST response MUST return NIL in POSTADDRESS information. Note, that
    the last requirement doesn't eliminate the need for the SMTP server
    to enforce access controls on delivery, as the returned email
    address may be passed by the IMAP client to a third party,
    not trusted by the SMTP server.

    Also note, that if the server also supports [ACL] extension and if
    the user doesn't have either "l" or "r" right on the mailbox,
    the server MUST NOT disclose the mailbox existence.

    Example:    C: A002 LIST () "" INBOX RETURN (POSTADDRESS)
                S: * LIST () "/" INBOX ("POSTADDRESS" (
                   "user1@example.com"))
                S: A002 OK List with postaddress info completed

    Note that the empty () after the LIST command name are not required,
    which is shown below:

    Example:    C: A002 LIST "" Drafts RETURN (POSTADDRESS)
                S: * LIST (\Marked) "/" Drafts ("POSTADDRESS" NIL)
                S: A002 OK List with postaddress info completed

    The following 2 examples demonstrate email addresses that require
    RFC 2821 quoting of the localpart:

    Example:    C: A002 LIST "" "foo bar" RETURN (POSTADDRESS)
                S: * LIST () "/" "foo bar" ("POSTADDRESS" (
                   "\"user1+foo bar\"@example.com"))
                S: A002 OK List with postaddress info completed

    Example:    C: A002 LIST () "" "foo bar" RETURN (POSTADDRESS)
                S: * LIST () "/" "foo bar" (POSTADDRESS ({27}
                S: "user1+foo bar"@example.com))
                S: A002 OK List with postaddress info completed

    The following example demonstrates that a non-existent subscribed
    mailbox doesn't have a corresponding post address:

    Example:    C: A03 LIST (SUBSCRIBED) "" "*" RETURN (POSTADDRESS)
                ...
                S: * LIST (\Subscribed \NonExistent) "/" "Fruit/Peach"
                   (POSTADDRESS NIL)

    The SUBSCRIBED selection option is described in [LISTEXT].


4. Extended LIST response with POSTADDRESS information

    Contents:   name attributes
                hierarchy delimiter
                mailbox name
                email address for posting to the mailbox

      This version of the LIST response occurs as a result of a LIST
      RETURN (POSTADDRESS) command. The proposed syntax conforms to
      the syntax of an extended LIST response as defined by
      mailbox-list ABNF element from [LISTEXT].

      The meaning of "name attributes" and "hierarchy delimiter" is
      described in section 7.2.2 of [IMAP4]. This is followed by the
      extension part that includes "POSTADDRESS" tag followed by an
      email address (enclosed in parenthesis) that can be used to post
      email to the mailbox. The returned email address MUST match
      the "Mailbox" ABNF production from [SMTP]. If no such address
      exists for the mailbox, the server MUST return NIL.

      Note, that any returned email address may be subject to
      user-controlled delivery filtering, such as [Sieve], which may
      cause a message sent to the email address to be delivered into
      a different mailbox or be discarded.

      The POSTADDRESS extended data item can occur only once in an
      extended LIST response. If the server knows multiple email
      addresses associated with a mailbox, it must return only one of
      them.


    Example:    S: * LIST () "/" Sent ("POSTADDRESS" (
                   "user+Sent@example.com"))


5.   Formal Syntax

    Formal syntax is defined using ABNF [ABNF], extending the ABNF rules
    in section 9 of [IMAP4]. Non-terminals referenced but not defined
    below are as defined by [ABNF], [IMAP4] or [LISTEXT].

    Except as noted otherwise, all alphabetic characters are
    case-insensitive.  The use of upper or lower case characters to
    define token strings is for editorial clarity only.  Implementations
    MUST accept these strings in a case-insensitive fashion.

    capability      =/ "POSTADDRESS"
                      ;;capability is defined in [IMAP4]

    postaddr-label  = "POSTADDRESS"

    return-option   =/ postaddr-label
                      ;; <return-option> is defined in [LISTEXT]

    postaddr-labret = postaddr-label /
                      DQUOTE postaddr-label DQUOTE /
                      "{11}" CRLF postaddr-label
                      ;; POSTADDRESS label represented as IMAP atom,
                      ;; quoted or literal string

    postaddr-data   = postaddr-labret SP emaddr-or-nil
                      ;; postaddr-data conforms to the syntax of
                      ;; mbox-list-extended-item from [LISTEXT]

    emaddr-or-nil   = "(" email-address ")" /
                      NIL
                      ;; NIL if email address is not known

    email-address   = astring


6.   Security Considerations

    Unless proper access restrictions are implemented, the POSTADDRESS
    extension can be used by a user to harvest email addresses.
    Note that email address harvesting is limited to users who already
    have IMAP access to the service. Also note that some IMAP servers
    allow for anonymous access.

    Additional security considerations are discussed in Section 3.


7.   IANA Considerations

    IANA is requested to register the following LISTEXT return option
    as specified in [LISTEXT]:


     To: iana@iana.org
     Subject: Registration of LISTEXT option POSTADDRESS

     LISTEXT option name: POSTADDRESS

     LISTEXT option type: RETURN

     LISTEXT option description: Causes the LIST command to return
          email address (if any) for posting to a returned mailbox.

     Published specification : this RFC, section 3.

     Security considerations: this RFC, section 6.

     Intended usage: COMMON

     Person & email address to contact for further information:
        Alexey Melnikov <Alexey.Melnikov@isode.com>

     Owner/Change controller: IESG <iesg@ietf.org>


8.  Normative References

    [KEYWORDS] Bradner, "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
    Requirement Levels", RFC 2119, Harvard University, March 1997.

    [ABNF] Crocker, D. (Ed.) and P. Overell , "Augmented BNF for Syntax
    Specifications: ABNF", RFC 4234, October 2005.

    [IMAP4] Crispin, M., "Internet Message Access Protocol - Version
    4rev1", RFC 3501, University of Washington, March 2003.

    [LISTEXT] Leiba, B. and A. Melnikov, "IMAP4 LIST Command
    Extensions", work in progress,
    draft-ietf-imapext-list-extensions-xx.txt.

    [ACL] Melnikov, A., "IMAP4 Access Control List (ACL) Extension",
    RFC 4314, December 2005.

    [SMTP] Klensin, J., "Simple Mail Transfer Protocol", STD 10,
    RFC 2821, April 2001.


9.  Informative References

    [Sieve] Showalter, T., "Sieve: A Mail Filtering Language", RFC 3028,
    January 2001.


10.  Aknowledgements

    The author would like to thank Ken Murchison for reminding that
    POSTADDRESS extension should not be a part of ACL2.

    The author would also like to thank Philip Guenther and Arnt
    Gulbrandsen for corrections and suggestions to this document.


11.  Author's Address

    Alexey Melnikov
    Isode Limited
    5 Castle Business Village
    36 Station Road
    Hampton, Middlesex
    TW12 2BX, UK

    Email: Alexey.Melnikov@isode.com
    URI:   http://www.melnikov.ca/


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