# [izzy@aac.twg.com: mailto URLs]

Larry Masinter (masinter@parc.xerox.com)
Mon, 8 Jan 1996 11:58:04 PST

- Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ]
- Next message: Olle Jarnefors: "Illegality of '~' in URLs"
- Previous message: Larry Masinter: "RFC 1808 use of # in 'base' example"

    To: uri@bunyip.com

    Subject: [izzy@aac.twg.com: mailto URLs]

    From: Larry Masinter <masinter@parc.xerox.com>

    Message-Id: <96Jan8.115815pst.2733@golden.parc.xerox.com>

    Date: Mon, 8 Jan 1996 11:58:04 PST

Date: Mon, 8 Jan 1996 11:23:45 -0800
From: izzy@aac.twg.com (Dr. Mark K. Joseph)
To: masinter@parc.xerox.com, timbl@www0.cern.ch, mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu,
ietf-822@list.cren.net
Cc: bhk@aac.twg.com
Subject: mailto URLs
X-Mailer: Emissary V1.20, by The Wollongong Group, Inc.
X-Listprocessor-Version: 7.2 -- ListProcessor by CREN

I would like to propose the following change to RFC1738, Uniform Resource
Locators (URL), (p.12):

3.5 MAILTO

The mailto URL scheme can be used to designate part or all of an
internet mail message. As
a minimum the mailto URL must designate the internet mail address of an
individual or service.
However, other mail message components such as a subject and a simple
message body can also be
specified.

A mailto URL takes the form:

mailto:<rfc822-addr-spec>[# (*msg_element | subject)]
; '#' separates the minimum form from all mailto messsage elements

msg_element = (to_element | cc_element | subject_element |
body_element | x_element) [*msg_element]

subject = *text
to_element = "TO="<rfc822-addr-spec>
cc_element = "CC="<rfc822-addr-spec>
subject_element = "SUBJECT="*text
body_element = "BODY="*text
x_element = "X-"<element name>"="<defined by extension type> ;
local extension

(Where body is a text string to be placed as the message body. This
could be used for
automatic mailing list subscription.)

where <rfc822-addr-spec> is (the encoding of an) addr-spec, as
specified in RFC822. Within
mailto URLs, the '#' character is used as a special marker between the
minimum mailto form
and one with additional message elements.
Note that the percent sign ('%') and the pound sign ('#') can appear in
RFC822 addresses and
must be encoded.

Unlike many URLs, the mailto scheme does not represent a data object to
be accessed directly,
but a mailto URL with message elements can designate a mail message
object to be created and
sent.

The following are examples of mailto URLs:

mailto:mjoseph@aac.twg.com
mailto:mjoseph@aac.twg.com#Weekly%20status%20report
mailto:mjoseph@aac.twg.com#SUBJECT=Weekly%20status%20report+CC=marks.boss@aac.twg.com
mailto:URL-mailing-list@abc.edu#SUBJECT=Add%20me%20mailing%20list+BODY=subscribe
mailto:abc%23def%25dcd@abc.com#Hi ; example of # and % encodings

____________________________
Mark K. Joseph
Advanced Applications Center
The Wollongong Group. Inc.
(408) - 469 -1854
mailto:izzy@aac.twg.com

- Next message: Olle Jarnefors: "Illegality of '~' in URLs"
- Previous message: Larry Masinter: "RFC 1808 use of # in 'base' example"