IMAP LIST Extension for Special-Use Mailboxes
RFC 6154

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Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                          B. Leiba
Request for Comments: 6154                           Huawei Technologies
Category: Standards Track                                    J. Nicolson
ISSN: 2070-1721                                                   Google
                                                              March 2011

             IMAP LIST Extension for Special-Use Mailboxes

Abstract

   Some IMAP message stores include special-use mailboxes, such as those
   used to hold draft messages or sent messages.  Many mail clients
   allow users to specify where draft or sent messages should be put,
   but configuring them requires that the user know which mailboxes the
   server has set aside for these purposes.  This extension adds new
   optional mailbox attributes that a server may include in IMAP LIST
   command responses to identify special-use mailboxes to the client,
   easing configuration.

Status of This Memo

   This is an Internet Standards Track document.

   This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
   (IETF).  It represents the consensus of the IETF community.  It has
   received public review and has been approved for publication by the
   Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG).  Further information on
   Internet Standards is available in Section 2 of RFC 5741.

   Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
   and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
   http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6154.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2011 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
   (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
   publication of this document.  Please review these documents
   carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
   to this document.  Code Components extracted from this document must
   include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
   the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
   described in the Simplified BSD License.

Leiba & Nicolson             Standards Track                    [Page 1]
RFC 6154            IMAP LIST: Special-Use Mailboxes          March 2011

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
     1.1.  Conventions Used in This Document  . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
   2.  New Mailbox Attributes Identifying Special-Use Mailboxes . . .  3
   3.  Extension to IMAP CREATE Command to Set Special-Use
       Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5
   4.  IMAP METADATA Entry for Special-Use Attributes . . . . . . . .  6
   5.  Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
     5.1.  Example of an IMAP LIST Command  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
     5.2.  Example of an Extended IMAP LIST Command . . . . . . . . .  7
     5.3.  Example of an IMAP CREATE Command  . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
     5.4.  Example of Using IMAP METADATA to Manipulate
           Special-Use Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
   6.  Formal Syntax  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
   7.  Security Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
   8.  IANA Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
     8.1.  Registration of USEATTR IMAP Response Code . . . . . . . . 10
     8.2.  Registration of CREATE-SPECIAL-USE IMAP Capability . . . . 10
     8.3.  Registration of SPECIAL-USE IMAP Capability  . . . . . . . 10
     8.4.  Registration of SPECIAL-USE Selection Option . . . . . . . 10
     8.5.  Registration of SPECIAL-USE Return Option  . . . . . . . . 11
     8.6.  Registration of SPECIAL-USE Metadata . . . . . . . . . . . 11
   9.  References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
     9.1.  Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
     9.2.  Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Leiba & Nicolson             Standards Track                    [Page 2]
RFC 6154            IMAP LIST: Special-Use Mailboxes          March 2011

1.  Introduction

   Some IMAP message stores include special-use mailboxes, such as those
   used to hold draft messages or sent messages.  Many mail clients
   allow users to specify where draft or sent messages should be put,
   but configuring them requires that the user know which mailboxes the
   server has set aside for these purposes.  This extension adds new
   optional mailbox attributes that a server may include in IMAP LIST
   command responses to identify special-use mailboxes to the client,
   easing configuration.

   In addition, this extension adds an optional parameter on the IMAP
   CREATE command, allowing a client to assign a special use to a
   mailbox when it is created.  Servers may choose to support this part