





Network Working Group                                        B. Bressler
Request for Comments: 458                                        BBN-NET
NIC: 14378                                                     B. Thomas
                                                               BBN-TENEX
                                                        20 February 1973


                         Mail Retrieval via FTP

   We propose two new FTP commands called ReaDMailFile and ReaDMail.
   These commands are intended to be symmetric with respect to the
   current MLFL and MAIL commands.  They would allow a user to read his
   mail at one or more sites without incurring the overhead of logging
   in and without having to use several different retrieval methods.
   The user might go further and create a program to go around to all
   the server sites and retrieve his mail for him.  The current FTP
   mechanisms provide for password protection, should security be
   required.

   This proposal brings into focus, once again, the problems of
   different users with the same ID, and to a lesser extent, one user
   with multiple IDs.  This RFC does not attempt to address these issues
   at this time, as much effort is currently being devoted to them.
   However, we believe that a satisfactory system for network mail
   should include a mechanism to enable each user to have mail for him
   sent to a single repository (ideally, the site of his choice).  We
   further believe that the two commands proposed here would be useful
   in such an environment as well as within the current network
   environment.

   The format of the commands is

   COMMAND    REPLY
              success        fail

   RDMF       200,250,330    433,450,451,454,455,457,500,507
              secondary replies:
              252            452

   RDML       152,330        433,450,451,455,500,507

   The success reply 200 would take the text "NO MAIL NOW".  For the
   RDMF command the mail itself is transferred over the data connection,
   and the FTP replies come over the TELNET connection.







Bressler, et. al.                                               [Page 1]

RFC 458                  Mail Retrieval via FTP         20 February 1973


   For the RDML command both the mail and the FTP replies come over the
   TELNET connection.  The reply 152 is a new code meaning "mail text
   follows" the text that follows may be "NO MAIL NOW".


          [This RFC was put into machine readable form for entry]
     [into the online RFC archives by Helene Morin, Via Genie 12/1999]












































Bressler, et. al.                                               [Page 2]

