Network Working Group J. Snell
Internet-Draft February 23, 2012
Intended status: Standards Track
Expires: August 26, 2012
Additional Link Relation Types
draft-snell-additional-link-relations-00
Abstract
This specification defines a number of additional Link Relation
Types.
Status of this Memo
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This Internet-Draft will expire on August 26, 2012.
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. "implements" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3. "privacy-policy" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
4. "terms-of-service" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
5. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
6. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
7. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
7.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
7.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Author's Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
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1. Introduction
This specification defines a number of additional Link Relation Types
for a variety of common linking scenarios.
In this document, the key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED",
"SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY",
and "OPTIONAL" are to be interpreted as described in [RFC2119].
2. "implements"
The "implements" Link relation can be used to refer to a resource
that specifies the behavior implemented by the link's context. Links
using the "implements" link relation can point either to formal
specification documents such as RFC's, Internet-Drafts, W3C
Recommendations, or to informal and possibly vendor specific
documents that describe implementation details.
For example, an HTTP client that implements the Atom Publishing
Protocol [RFC5023] could include an "implements" Link (per [RFC5988])
within the HTTP Request referencing RFC 5023:
POST /collection HTTP/1.1
Host: example.org
Content-Type: application/atom+xml; type=entry
Link: <http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5023>; rel="implements"
<entry ...
Multiple "implements" Links can be used to indicate that multiple
specifications have been implemented.
3. "privacy-policy"
The "privacy-policy" Link relation can be used to refer to a resource
describing the privacy policy associated with the link's context.
The privacy policy can be any resource that discloses what personal
information about the user is collected, and how that personal
information is stored, used, managed and disclosed to other parties.
For example, an HTTP server that collects personal information about
a user throughout the course of the user's interaction with the
service can include "privacy-policy" Links within all HTTP Responses
using any combination of Link headers or links embedded in the
response payload:
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HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: text/html
Link: </privacy-policy.html>; rel="privacy-policy"
<html>
<head>
...
<link rel="privacy-policy" href="/privacy-policy.html">
...
</head>
<body>
...
<a rel="privacy-policy" href="/privacy-policy.html">
Privacy Policy
</a>
...
</body>
</html>
4. "terms-of-service"
The "terms-of-service" Link relation can be used to refer to a
resource describing the Terms of Service associated with the link's
context. The Terms of Service can be any resource that describes the
rules to which a consumer of the service must agree to follow when
using the service provided by the link's context.
For example, an HTTP server can include "terms-of-service" Links
within all HTTP Responses using any combination of Link headers or
links embedded in the response payload:
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HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: text/html
Link: </tos.html>; rel="terms-of-service"
<html>
<head>
...
<link rel="terms-of-service" href="/tos.html">
...
</head>
<body>
...
<a rel="terms-of-service" href="/tos.html">
Privacy Policy
</a>
...
</body>
</html>
5. IANA Considerations
The Registry of Link Relations should be updated with the following
entries:
o Relation Name: implements
o Description: Refers to a specification implemented by the link's
context.
o Reference: This specification.
o Relation Name: privacy-policy
o Description: Refers to a Privacy Policy associated with the link's
context.
o Reference: This specification.
o Relation Name: terms-of-service
o Description: Refers to the Terms of Service associated with the
link's context.
o Reference: This specification.
6. Security Considerations
Implementors should note that the presence of a "privacy-policy" Link
provides no guarantee that personal information collected and used by
a resource will be handled in the manner described by the linked
resource.
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Publishers of Privacy Policy resources linked to using the "privacy-
policy" Link relation type SHOULD provide a clear and simple
mechanism for signaling when changes to the Privacy Policy resource
have been made, such as generating a new Entity Tag for the resource
or generating a hash over the Privacy Policy's content.
There are no additional security concerns introduced by the "terms-
of-service" and "implements" Link relations.
7. References
7.1. Normative References
[RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.
7.2. Informative References
[RFC5023] Gregorio, J. and B. de hOra, "The Atom Publishing
Protocol", RFC 5023, October 2007.
[RFC5988] Nottingham, M., "Web Linking", RFC 5988, October 2010.
Author's Address
James M Snell
Email: jasnell@gmail.com
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