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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
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 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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