Requirements for Improvements to the IETF Email List Archiving, Web-Based Browsing, and Search Tool
RFC 7842

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Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                         R. Sparks
Request for Comments: 7842                                        Oracle
Category: Informational                                       April 2016
ISSN: 2070-1721

    Requirements for Improvements to the IETF Email List Archiving,
                  Web-Based Browsing, and Search Tool

Abstract

   The web-based IETF email archive search tool based on the
   requirements captured in RFC 6778 was deployed in January 2014.  This
   memo captures the requirements for a set of improvements that have
   been identified during its initial years of community use.

Status of This Memo

   This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is
   published for informational purposes.

   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).  Not all documents
   approved by the IESG are a candidate for any level of Internet
   Standard; see 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/rfc7842.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2016 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.

Sparks                        Informational                     [Page 1]
RFC 7842         List Archiving and Search Requirements       April 2016

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   2.  List Search and Archive Tool Improvement Requirements . . . .   2
     2.1.  Viewing by Thread . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
     2.2.  Navigation from the Message List View . . . . . . . . . .   3
     2.3.  Navigation from a Single Message  . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     2.4.  Message List UI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     2.5.  Improve Support for Mobile Devices  . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     2.6.  Improve Use of Display Space  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     2.7.  Use without JavaScript  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     2.8.  Administration  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   3.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   4.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     4.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     4.2.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   Author's Address  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7

1.  Introduction

   The IETF email archive search tool, as specified in [RFC6778]) and
   available at [mailarch], has been in use for nearly two years.
   During that time, there have been repeated requests for several
   improvements.  This memo captures the requirements for a concerted
   development effort to provide those improvements.

2.  List Search and Archive Tool Improvement Requirements

2.1.  Viewing by Thread

   Currently, when the "Group by Thread" button is selected, the
   resulting list of messages is flat.  It is very hard to tell where a
   thread starts and stops.  This flat view interacts badly with sorting
   (triggered by clicking on the column headers), leading to results
   that are confusing and sometimes incorrect.

   This effort will:

   o  Modify the message list display, when grouped by thread, to show
      each thread hierarchically.

   o  Modify the sort performed by the clicking on the column headers to
      sort the overall list first by the parameters in the first message
      in the thread, and then sort within the thread (ensuring the
      thread grouping doesn't change based on these sorts).  When
      viewing threads sorted this way, the hierarchy will be flattened,
      but the thread boundaries will remain visibly distinct.

Sparks                        Informational                     [Page 2]
RFC 7842         List Archiving and Search Requirements       April 2016

2.2.  Navigation from the Message List View

   This effort will add navigation to the message list view, whether
   viewing flat search results or viewing by thread, making it simple