Network Working Group                                          T. Hansen
Request for Comments: 3938                             AT&T Laboratories
Updates: 3458                                               October 2004
Category: Standards Track

Video-Message Message-Context

Status of this Memo

This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2004).

Abstract

The Message-Context header defined in RFC 3458 describes the context of a message (for example: fax-message or voice-message). This specification extends the Message-Context header with one additional context value: "video-message".

A receiving user agent (UA) may use this information as a hint to optimally present the message.

1.  Introduction

Email messages can be used to convey many different forms of messages, and the user will interact with different types in different ways. As explained in RFC 3458 [1], the "message context" of the message conveys information about the way the user expects to interact with the message, such as which icon to display. RFC 3458 then registers the message contexts for a "voice-message", "fax- message", "pager-message", "multimedia-message", "text-message", and "none".

Hansen                      Standards Track                     [Page 1]


RFC 3938             Video-Message Message-Context          October 2004
2.  Video Message

One form of email is a message that consists mostly of a video stream. Examples of services that send video email are those connected to cell phones that capture video streams, and video email services that use webcams attached to a PC. These email messages currently consist of two flavors, both of which can be properly considered a video message:

1. those that embed the video stream internally within the message as a body part, and

2. those whose video stream is stored on a third party's video server.

However, none of the existing message contexts properly identify such video messages. This specification extends the Message-Context header with one additional context value: video-message.

3.  IANA Considerations

3.1.  Message-Context

As specified in RFC 3458 [1], this document registers "video-message" in the "Internet Message Context Types" repository.

Message-Context class name:
video-message

Summary of the message class:
Indicates a message whose primary content is a video mail message. The primary content is video data. The context is usually a message recorded on a video camera, or a message whose primary purpose is to contain an external reference to a message recorded on a video camera.

Person & email address to contact for further information:
Tony Hansen, tony+msgctxt@maillennium.att.com.

4.  Security Considerations

This header is intended to be an indicator of message context only. As such, it is only a hint and requires no behavior on the part of a message user agent.

Hansen                      Standards Track                     [Page 2]


RFC 3938             Video-Message Message-Context          October 2004
5.  Normative References

[1] Burger, E., Candell, E., Eliot, C., and G. Klyne, "Message
Context for Internet Mail", RFC 3458, January 2003.

6.  Author's Address

Tony Hansen AT&T Laboratories 200 Laurel Ave. Middletown, NJ 07748 USA

EMail: tony+msgctxt@maillennium.att.com

Hansen                      Standards Track                     [Page 3]


RFC 3938             Video-Message Message-Context          October 2004
7.  Full Copyright Statement

Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2004).

This document is subject to the rights, licenses and restrictions contained in BCP 78, and except as set forth therein, the authors retain all their rights.

This document and the information contained herein are provided on an "AS IS" basis and THE CONTRIBUTOR, THE ORGANIZATION HE/SHE REPRESENTS OR IS SPONSORED BY (IF ANY), THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING TASK FORCE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Intellectual Property

The IETF takes no position regarding the validity or scope of any Intellectual Property Rights or other rights that might be claimed to pertain to the implementation or use of the technology described in this document or the extent to which any license under such rights might or might not be available; nor does it represent that it has made any independent effort to identify any such rights. Information on the IETF's procedures with respect to rights in IETF Documents can be found in BCP 78 and BCP 79.

Copies of IPR disclosures made to the IETF Secretariat and any assurances of licenses to be made available, or the result of an attempt made to obtain a general license or permission for the use of such proprietary rights by implementers or users of this specification can be obtained from the IETF on-line IPR repository at http://www.ietf.org/ipr.

The IETF invites any interested party to bring to its attention any copyrights, patents or patent applications, or other proprietary rights that may cover technology that may be required to implement this standard. Please address the information to the IETF at ietf- ipr@ietf.org.

Acknowledgement

Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the Internet Society.

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