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Ärende: FTS-1025.001.rc3
========================
**********************************************************************
FTSC                             FIDONET TECHNICAL STANDARDS COMMITTEE
**********************************************************************

Publication:  FTS-1025
Revision:     1, RC-3
Title:        Simple E-Mail Attach Transport (S.E.A.T.)
Author:       Charles Cruden,
              Vincent Danen,
              Brent Shellenberg
              Ramon van der Winkel
Issue Date:   15 April 2004
Review Date:  15 May 2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Contents:
              1. The Purpose
              2. Reading this document
              3. Implementation
              4. Specifying compliancy
              5. Required implementation
              6. Recommended implementation
              7. Optional implementation
              8. Last Notes
----------------------------------------------------------------------


Status of this document
-----------------------

  This document is a Fidonet Technical Standard (FTS).

  This document specifies an optional Fidonet standard protocol for
  the Fidonet community.

  This document is released to the public domain, and may be used,
  copied or modified for any purpose whatever.


Introduction
------------

  This document describes a consistent way of sending FTN style mail
  as an attachment to an internet e-mail. It provides a clearly
  delineated minimum specification, a recommended specification as
  well as several option extensions.


1. The Purpose
--------------
  With the popularity of the internet being utilized as a replacement
  for long distance calls to transfer FTN style mail, came about a
  problem.  Though the idea is exciting and beneficial to all, every
  developer that went this route did their work on their own (thus
  creating a large sea of software that wasn't compatible with
  anything else).

  The purpose of this document (and discussions that have been ongoing
  in the Sysop's Tech Net and NET_DEV) is to define a basic standard
  of common ground that can ensure that everyone's software has the
  ability to communicate with others.  As much as the FTS-1 document
  of Fidonet makes sure that FTN style mailers can communicate, this
  document is to do the same thing for internet e-mail attachment
  software.


2. Reading This Document
------------------------
  This document uses examples to show working "real life" copies of
  what a properly formatted S.E.A.T. message looks like, making it
  easier to get a visual idea of how the whole thing works.


3. Implementation
-----------------
  This document is divided into three sections: required, recommended
  and optional implementations.  Each defines a level of
  compatibility with S.E.A.T.  In order for a program to be considered
  S.E.A.T. compatible, it must implement all the encodings and
  keywords presented in the "required" section of this document: this
  will be defined as S.E.A.T. level one compatible.  This provides a
  method for sending files of any size through email, but does not
  provide a means for assuring their correct delivery. Developers are
  strongly encouraged not to stop at providing S.E.A.T. level one
  support but to include level two support - implementation of all the
  encodings and keywords presented in the both the "required" and
  "recommended" sections of this document.  Level two support provides
  for reliable transmission of files through email.

  S.E.A.T. levels three and four are defined as programs which
  implement respectively some or all of the encodings and keywords
  presented in the "optional" portion of this document, as well as
  providing S.E.A.T. level  two support.  Although these extensions
  are not required of any  implementation, they provide certain
  features which future users would  find useful.

  Note that a program cannot be considered to provide support for
  S.E.A.T. at a given level without providing support for ALL the
  levels beneath.


4. Specifying compliancy
------------------------
  When a program specifies that it is S.E.A.T. compatible, it must
  also provide the level of S.E.A.T. which it implements.  i.e.
  "This program is S.E.A.T. level three compatible."  All level four
  compatible programs must also provide the revision of S.E.A.T. which
  they are compatible with, so that other developers may be aware
  which extensions the author claims to support. It is recommended,
  though not required, that all authors provide this information as
  well.


5. Required implementation
--------------------------
  S.E.A.T. level one describes the minimum set of encodings and
  keywords which a program must support in order to be considered
  S.E.A.T. compatible. Quickly, these are:
    Encodings:
      UUencode
    Keywords:
      Ftn-File
      Ftn-File-Id
      Ftn-Crc32
      Ftn-Encoding
      Ftn-Seg
      Ftn-Seg-Id
      Ftn-Seg-Crc32
  S.E.A.T. level one programs must correctly generate these keywords
  for each file they send, and must be able to decode any incoming
  message which uses exclusively keywords from this set.

  Note that this implicitly requires any S.E.A.T. compatible mailer to
  support files split across multiple messages.


  5.1 Attachment Example
  ----------------------
  All control information for each attached file is placed in the
  message body text. The only exception to this is the subject line,
  which must always start with a fixed character string to identify
  (to mailer software) the e-mail message as a SEAT packet.

  Control lines must be confined to more than 255 characters in total
  length, and unless otherwise specified, may not have any "white
  space" (ie: no blank characters other than the space that directly
  follows the control line identifier). This document displays the use
  of basic uuencoding of files. All implementations must provide it as
  a bare minimum.

  --snip--
  From: ARCmail <brents@sk.sympatico.ca>
  To: Steven Lager <onsite@accel.net>
  Subject: FTN Mail Transport
  Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 02:26:47
  Organization: GUNN Data Systems
  Reply-To: Brent Shellenberg <brents@sk.sympatico.ca>
  X-Mailer: INetFTN v0.02-Beta

  Ftn-File: AA3D1EAC.TH0
  Ftn-File-Id: AA3D1EAC.TH0.876796006.50DC7A2B
  Ftn-Crc32: 50DC7A2B
  Ftn-Encoding: uuencode
  Ftn-Seg: 1-1
  Ftn-Seg-Id: 50DC7A2B-1-1-brents@sk.sympatico.ca
  Ftn-Seg-Crc32: 50DC7A2B

  begin 644 AA3D1EAC.TH0
  M4$L#!!0````(`%834".2#K[O=0$``#("```,````,C,U,#$S-4(N4$M4;5$]
  M;]LP$*7LK0"+S)EN:1$K%D4QK>UPBF3+:H?80:D.G0K:D2W!BAB(=!!O^;GY
  M#UE""G6+MCE^X'B\]^[XZ"$/2?0.G:`>.D5#]/2AAY[[+_WW/?3+;NUPYC*/
  MOK->%W&Y[A2-8+DV<#D&H(RS$:<4Q76-DK9H#(BRJ.NB617M%N6%-BC^EL8\
  MFXF?29K'V,N_SCB(+%V7"AX8H33,5'U[CKUKD;FKB%)N%PTCF--I,IZ.(^S=
  M=*!2F>V^^0N5EY4&.R486XM@3`C!MADP90$K&QKB_]K"V/<AWIM2M;#<_*:]
  M:=6FT+I2C:SAX]OAC8.(D('O.Y(TN)95S6'E2N@KO2/Z<'<O3;569"T!8"X?
  MPR01',XNZ&@P^LP"RB83.&,3,ADX$AP$P9L/`Q^6;;6M&@[9]\4"9M)($`=M
  MBCL-%B+U3AJEFB&(G3W_P_]'Q`$6:;H(DA^=LD[5B$)D=P;1A?6CRR[$/H5.
  MYCC_<LS#]J=?`5!+`0(4`!0````(`%834".2#K[O=0$``#("```,````````
  M``$`(``````````R,S4P,3,U0BY02U102P4&``````$``0`Z````GP$`````
  `
  end
  --snip--


  5.2 Breakdown Of The Above Example
  ----------------------------------

  5.2.1 Message Subject
  ---------------------
  The message subject must always start with "FTN Mail Transport".
  Software should treat it case insensetively, and implementations
  may place anything extra after the string.

    Basic:          Subject: FTN Mail Transport
    Modified:       Subject: FTN Mail Transport - Sysop's Tech Net

  Mailer software (and encoders/decoders) should simply ignore
  anything after the basic subject line text.

  5.2.2 Control Information
  -------------------------
  In order for mail to be acknowledged as received, or in order to do
  other system level operations on the received files, control lines
  are required. These lines are placed in the message body, and must
  always be treated case insensetive.  All Ftn-* lines must occur
  before the actual file to be  transmitted.  Because certain lines
  are optional and certain lines can occur more than once, order is
  not important: it is suggested though that  implementations follow
  the order given in this document wherever possible. There must
  additionally be no extra text between the last Ftn-* line and the
  headers indicating the start of the encoded file.  Blank lines may
  be inserted, but that is all.

  Systems may choose to place text in the message before the Ftn-*
  lines.  No more than 10 lines of text should be given though, and
  none of the lines may start with Ftn-.

  5.2.3 Transmission keywords
  ---------------------------

  These are keywords used in the transmission of files.

  Ftn-File: AA3D1EAC.TH0

    This is simply the filename of the file that is attatched to the
    message. Though this may seem redundant, it will allow for quick
    and easy parsing of the message body for the received filename.

    Long filenames and non-DOS filenames are permitted.  Systems
    running under DOS should munge the filename to something
    appropriate and  inform the user of the original filename.  When
    sending the filename, the case and spacing provided after Ftn-File
    must exactly match that of the file on the original filesystem.

  Ftn-File-Id: AA3D1EAC.TH0.876796006.50DC7A2B

    The Ftn-File-Id line is a free form text string that identifies a
    complete file. It must be a unique string for each file sent from
    a system, and is generally used for requesting the complete resend
    of a file (explained in the section describing NAKs below).

  Ftn-Crc32: 50DC7A2B

    The value after the control string is the calculated Crc32 value
    (hexadecimal) of the entire file (fused back together). This is
    provided largely for multipart file attachments, but must be
    present for all attachments to make parsing easier.

    The algorithm used here is based on the polynomial 0x04C11DB7 (or
    the reflected version, 0xEDB88320), with an initial CRC value of
    0xFFFFFFFF and finalised by an XOR with 0xFFFFFFFF.  This is
    compatible with [JAM], PKZIP, Zmodem, Ethernet and many others.

    Implementers are referred to [ISO 3309] or [ITU-T V.42] for the
    formal CRC32 specification, [RFC 1952] or [RFC 2823] for sample
    code, and "A PAINLESS GUIDE TO CRC ERROR DETECTION ALGORITHMS"
    [Williams93] for a detailed explanation of table-driven CRC
    algorithms.

  Ftn-Encoding: uuencode

    The Ftn-Encoding line is a simple line that declares the type of
    encoding used for the attachment. This is provided for simplicity
    reasons (in parsing the e-mail message) as well to draw some
    boundaries of what is required for a certain standard level. The
    following values are valid for this (and future) revisions:

      uuencode
      Base64

    If a system doesn't support the encoding given in this line, it
    should respond with an Ftn-Error line and the error code UE
    (unsupported encoding).

  Ftn-Seg: 1-1

    This identifies the number of "parts" in which attached file is
    being sent. The values make up a descriptor of what file segment
    is being received from how many parts. For instance, 1-1 simply
    means the attached file segment is 1 of 1 (so no further segments
    will follow).  If the value was 2-5, this would mean the contained
    segment is part 2 of 5.

  Ftn-Seg-Id: 50DC7A2B-1-1-brents@sk.sympatico.ca

    The Ftn-Id line is a unique identification line for a file part
    that is used primarily to send acknowledgements back to the
    sender. The actual method the developer may use to create this
    line is purely up to the imagination. It is intended to be a free
    form text string that is simply "copied" for use in ack messages.

  Ftn-Seg-Crc32: 50DC7A2B

    This line contains the calculated Crc32 value of the file part
    that is contained in the message. Unlike the Ftn-Crc32 line, this
    is ONLY for the encoded piece that is contained within the single
    message.

  5.3 Large File Splitting
  ------------------------
  Splitting of files MUST be done prior to the creation of the
  encoded message. The uuencoding or Base64 methods described for use
  with this revision are not to have any splitting/fusing method of
  their own. Simply chop the file up into multiple temporary files,
  and encode each seperately. Not all systems will require that the
  files be sliced, but some may. This option (of splitting in general)
  should be adjustable by the system operator. Also keep in mind that
  those that are using standard e-mail clients to decode the inbound
  mail packets will probably not be able to fuse the files back
  together. An option for not splitting large files is therefore good
  practice.


  5.4 Additional Message Body Text
  --------------------------------
  It would be desirable to have implementations avoid placing too
  much "noise" in the message text body (ie: advertisements or other
  text that is not relevant to the transfer of the file attachments).
  Since this method of transport is generally going to be done by
  automated encoders/decoders, it probably won't be seen anyway, so
  it would merely be a waste of space in the users' pop mail boxes.


  5.5 Receiving files under DOS
  -----------------------------
  Implementors of a S.E.A.T. compatible mailer for DOS should note
  that the Ftn-File line provides for the possibility of long
  filenames being sent. Since DOS doesn't provide support for files
  outside its 8.3 filename format, a way of mungeing filenames from
  long to 8.3 name formats must be provided. It is recommended,
  though not required, that a format similar to the Win95 method of
  mungeing files is provided.  The first six valid (under DOS)
  characters of the filename form the start of the new filename.
  These are followed by a dash (-) and a number (0 through 9).  If
  there is a period (.) in the original filename, the first three
  characters following the last period form the extension of the new
  filename.  When the mungeing process results in a filename that
  already exists, the number should be incremented until there is no
  conflict.  Each additional digit in the number means one less
  character is taken from the start of the original filename.

  If the original filename fits into the 8.3 format, it should be
  used.

  Some examples:
    Original name          Munged name
      MailForYou.Zip         MAILFO-0.ZIP
      Bobs Your Uncle        BOBS-0.
      LOTS.O.DOTS.ZIP        LOTS-0.ZIP
      053F31CD.MO0           053F31CD.MO0


6. Recommended implementation
-----------------------------
  S.E.A.T. level two provides a means for reliably transferring files
  through email, ensuring that except in the case of a long term mail
  problem, all files sent will arrive at their destination without
  modification.  S.E.A.T. level two also provides support for error
  detection and correction in the S.E.A.T. keywords of a given
  message, vital to supporting the optional keywords in levels three
  and above.

  S.E.A.T. level two defines the following keywords:
    Ftn-Date
    Ftn-Receipt
    Ftn-Cancel
    Ftn-Error

  6.1 Transmission keywords
  -------------------------

  Ftn-Date: 34C7D356

    The value after the control string is the UNIX time/date stamp of
    the file as stored on the sending end's system, printed in
    hexadeciaml format. This may be used by some implementations to
    re-stamp file dates on the local system.

  6.2 Response keywords
  ---------------------
  These control lines are sent in response to files sent by other
  SEAT mailers.  They may be sent alone, or as part of the control
  lines preceeding a transmitted file.

  6.2.1 ACK Example (Single ACK)
  ------------------------------
  Acknowledging a received section of a file is a simple task. The
  Ftn-Seg-Id line (described above) is all thats needed to return an
  acknowledgement.

      Example (ACKing the above attachment example):

      --snip--
      From: ARCmail <onsite@accel.net>
      To: Brent Shellenberg <brents@sk.sympatico.ca>
      Subject: FTN Mail Transport
      Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 02:30:00
      Organization: Some Guy's BBS
      Reply-To: Steven Lager <onsite@accel.net>
      X-Mailer: INetFTN v0.01-Beta

      Ftn-Receipt: 50DC7A2B-1-1-brents@sk.sympatico.ca Ack
      --snip--

  6.2.2 ACK Example (Multiple ACKs)
  ---------------------------------
  Acknowledgements may also come with multiple ACKs in a single
  message.  Software should look for this, and be prepared to act on
  it at any time.

      Example (ACKing the above attachment example):

      --snip--
      From: ARCmail <onsite@accel.net>
      To: Brent Shellenberg <brents@sk.sympatico.ca>
      Subject: FTN Mail Transport
      Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 02:30:00
      Organization: Some Guy's BBS
      Reply-To: Steven Lager <onsite@accel.net>
      X-Mailer: INetFTN v0.01-Beta

      Ftn-Receipt: 54DC7A2B-1-1-brents@sk.sympatico.ca Ack
      Ftn-Receipt: 53DC7A2B-1-2-brents@sk.sympatico.ca Ack
      Ftn-Receipt: 53DC7A2B-2-2-brents@sk.sympatico.ca Ack
      Ftn-Receipt: 52DC7A2B-1-1-brents@sk.sympatico.ca Ack
      --snip--

  6.2.3 NAK Example
  -----------------
  A NAK has two purposes when dealing with file acknowledgements. The
  first method is similar the ACK procedures for dealing with getting
  a resend of an individual file segment. The second method is for
  requesting a total resend of a complete file.

  NAKing A File Segment
  ---------------------

  A NAK should be sent when there is a problem decoding a received
  file segment, or a segment is missing after a long period of time
  (implementation of timers is the resposibility of the developer).

        Example (NAKing the above attachment example):

        --snip--
        From: ARCmail <onsite@accel.net>
        To: Brent Shellenberg <brents@sk.sympatico.ca>
        Subject: FTN Mail Transport
        Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 02:30:00
        Organization: Some Guy's BBS
        Reply-To: Steven Lager <onsite@accel.net>
        X-Mailer: INetFTN v0.01-Beta

        Ftn-Receipt: 50DC7A2B-1-1-brents@sk.sympatico.ca Nak
        --snip--

        As with ACKs, NAKs may come in multiples in the same message.

  NAKing A Complete File (complete resend)
  ----------------------------------------

  The only difference in this method is that the ID line used in the
  Ftn-Receipt line is the Ftn-File-Id line and NOT the Ftn-Seg-Id
  line.  To use show the difference between this method and the
  simple method of NAKing a file segment, this example (again) uses
  the example from this document:

        --snip--
        From: ARCmail <onsite@accel.net>
        To: Brent Shellenberg <brents@sk.sympatico.ca>
        Subject: FTN Mail Transport
        Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 02:30:00
        Organization: Some Guy's BBS
        Reply-To: Steven Lager <onsite@accel.net>
        X-Mailer: INetFTN v0.01-Beta

        Ftn-Receipt: AA3D1EAC.TH0.876796006.50DC7A2B Nak
        --snip--

  With the possibility of a system requesting a total resend of a
  file, comes the possibility that the file no longer exists on the
  sending system (as in the case of echomail bundles or TIC files).
  SEAT provides a method for the sender to tell the receiver that the
  requested resend file no longer exists through the use of the
  Ftn-Cancel line. In taking the above example for requesting a
  complete resend, the sending system would respond with a message
  such as:

        --snip--
        From: ARCmail <brents@sk.sympatico.ca>
        To: Steven Lager <onsite@accel.net>
        Subject: FTN Mail Transport
        Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 02:30:00
        Organization: GUNN Data Systems
        Reply-To: Brent Shellenberg <brents@sk.sympatico.ca>
        X-Mailer: INetFTN v0.01-Beta

        Ftn-Cancel: AA3D1EAC.TH0.876796006.50DC7A2B
        --snip--


  6.2.4 ACKs/NAKs Within An Attachment Message
  --------------------------------------------
  ACK/NAK lines may be sent along with a message that contains an
  e-mail attachment. This cuts down on the number of e-mail messages
  that are sent, and can generally clear the clutter from your spool
  directory. Using the document example, this example is modified to
  show this usage of ACK/NAK lines. Please note that these control
  lines can be anywhere in the message text boundary.

      --snip--
      From: ARCmail <brents@sk.sympatico.ca>
      To: Steven Lager <onsite@accel.net>
      Subject: FTN Mail Transport
      Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 02:26:47
      Organization: GUNN Data Systems
      Reply-To: Brent Shellenberg <brents@sk.sympatico.ca>
      X-Mailer: INetFTN v0.01-Beta

      Ftn-File: AA3D1EAC.TH0
      Ftn-File-Id: AA3D1EAC.TH0.876796006.50DC7A2B
      Ftn-Date: 876796006
      Ftn-Crc32: 50DC7A2B
      Ftn-Encoding: uuencode
      Ftn-Seg: 1-1
      Ftn-Seg-Id: 50DC7A2B-1-1-brents@sk.sympatico.ca
      Ftn-Seg-Crc32: 50DC7A2B
      Ftn-Receipt: 437D8EAA-1-1-onsite@accel.net Ack
      Ftn-Receipt: E7F352CB-1-1-onsite@accel.net Nak

      begin 644 AA3D1EAC.TH0
      M4$L#!!0````(`%834".2#K[O=0$``#("```,````,C,U,#$S-4(N4$M4;5$]
      M;]LP$*7LK0"+S)EN:1$K%D4QK>UPBF3+:H?80:D.G0K:D2W!BAB(=!!O^;GY
      M#UE""G6+MCE^X'B\]^[XZ"$/2?0.G:`>.D5#]/2AAY[[+_WW/?3+;NUPYC*/
      MOK->%W&Y[A2-8+DV<#D&H(RS$:<4Q76-DK9H#(BRJ.NB617M%N6%-BC^EL8\
      MFXF?29K'V,N_SCB(+%V7"AX8H33,5'U[CKUKD;FKB%)N%PTCF--I,IZ.(^S=
      M=*!2F>V^^0N5EY4&.R486XM@3`C!MADP90$K&QKB_]K"V/<AWIM2M;#<_*:]
      M:=6FT+I2C:SAX]OAC8.(D('O.Y(TN)95S6'E2N@KO2/Z<'<O3;569"T!8"X?
      MPR01',XNZ&@P^LP"RB83.&,3,ADX$AP$P9L/`Q^6;;6M&@[9]\4"9M)($`=M
      MBCL-%B+U3AJEFB&(G3W_P_]'Q`$6:;H(DA^=LD[5B$)D=P;1A?6CRR[$/H5.
      MYCC_<LS#]J=?`5!+`0(4`!0````(`%834".2#K[O=0$``#("```,````````
      M``$`(``````````R,S4P,3,U0BY02U102P4&``````$``0`Z````GP$`````
      `
      end
      --snip--

  6.2.5 Errors
  ------------
  Errors may occur when the message generated at one system uses
  features which aren't available on another (for example using
  an encoding type that the other doesn't support).  In this case,
  the system which generates the error should respond with an
  Ftn-Error line. The syntax of an Ftn-Error line is

      Ftn-Error: <error code> <parameter>

  where <error code> is one of the following codes, and <parameter>
  is as defined for the given code.

  CA: cryptographic algorithm unsupported
    When a program receives a file encrypted with a cryptographic
    algorithm it doesn't support, it should send this code back, with
    the parameter being the entry in the Ftn-Crypt field.  A system
    which receives this error should notify the user of the problem
    and treat the file as being NACK'ed, though where possible, it
    would be desireable not to have the file resent until the systems
    have worked out an algorithm which they both can use.
  UE: unsupported encoding
    These are generated when the encoding given in the Ftn-Encoding
    line is not supported by the system which received the message.
    The parameter is the Ftn-File-ID of the file that was sent.
  UK: unsupported keyword
    If a mailer finds an Ftn- control line which it doesn't recognize,
    it should respond with an unsupported keyword error, and give the
    unrecognized keyword as the parameter.
  UM: unsupported MIME format
    These are generated when the Content-Type or
    Content-Transfer-Encoding strings in the MIME header are not
    understood by the receiving system.  The parameter is the
    Ftn-File-ID of the file that was sent.

  (Other error codes may be added as new features are added to the
  specification.)  Error codes are case insensitive.

  An example of sending an Ftn-Error line is:

      --snip--
      From: ARCmail <onsite@accel.net>
      To: Brent Shellenberg <brents@sk.sympatico.ca>
      Subject: FTN Mail Transport
      Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 02:30:00
      Organization: Some Guy's BBS
      Reply-To: Steven Lager <onsite@accel.net>
      X-Mailer: INetFTN v0.01-Beta

      Ftn-Error: UE 54DC7A2B-1-1-brents@sk.sympatico.ca
      --snip--

  Like Ftn-Receipt and Ftn-Cancel, Ftn-Error lines can be sent more
  than one to a file, and can be sent as part of the control lines
  of another file.

  The system which generates an Ftn-Error line should notify the user
  that an error has occurred and should explain what the error was.
  The system which receives an Ftn-Error line should also notify the
  local user that a problem occurred, explain what the error was and
  to whom the original message was intended.  When the parameter of
  an Ftn-Error line is an Ftn-File-ID, Ftn-Error means that the file
  with the given ID has not been received correctly (as if a Nak had
  been received).  It is up to the developer to decide whether this
  will mean the file will be resent with the problem fixed, or whether
  the local user will be requested to fix the problem, though wherever
  possible, the first choice is preferred.


  6.3 Time Allowances For ACKs
  ----------------------------
  It is up to the developer to decide the time frame to be allowed
  for the ACKs to be returned to the sender's system.  3 days would be
  sufficient.  Keep in mind that this means that there needs to be a
  copy stored on the user's hard drive for that length of time (in
  case no ACK is received, or the other system responds with a NAK).
  If the time period passes, the sender should resend the segments in
  question.  The receiver of the file(s) should simply ignore (erase)
  any segments belonging to files that have already been received.
  An easy way to accomplish this to maintain a data file containing
  the Ftn-Id lines (or the Crc32 value).  As an note to developers,
  you should have your encoding scheme be able to not require acks at
  all, as some users may wish to transfer files to other parties that
  use simple e-mail clients that don't have the ability to react to
  the Ftn-* control lines (eg. S.E.A.T. level one mailers).



7. Optional implementation
--------------------------
  The keywords and encodings given here are optional for any developer
  to implement.  Although they provide extended functionality to
  programs, their implementation may be too difficult or time
  consuming for some.

  S.E.A.T. optional keywords are:
    Ftn-Freq
    Ftn-Auth
    Ftn-Crypt
  S.E.A.T. optional encodings are:
    Base64


  7.1 Example message for optional implementations
  ------------------------------------------------
  Note that the MD5 and Crc32 values here are just fillers and have
  not been calculated to match the contents of the message.

      --snip--
      From: ARCmail <brents@sk.sympatico.ca>
      To: Steven Lager <onsite@accel.net>
      Subject: FTN Mail Transport
      Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 02:26:47
      Organization: GUNN Data Systems
      Reply-To: Brent Shellenberg <brents@sk.sympatico.ca>
      X-Mailer: INetFTN v0.02-Beta
      MIME-Version: 1.0
      Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary=SomeUniqueStringThing

      Ftn-File: AA3D1EAC.TH0
      Ftn-File-Id: AA3D1EAC.TH0.876796006.50DC7A2B
      Ftn-Date: 876796006
      Ftn-Crc32: 50DC7A2B
      Ftn-Encoding: Base64
      Ftn-Seg: 1-1
      Ftn-Seg-Id: 50DC7A2B-1-1-brents@sk.sympatico.ca
      Ftn-Seg-Crc32: 50DC7A2B
      Ftn-Auth: c349f4d113a4d38afd5327c3328d6c37
      Ftn-Crypt: Blowfish

      --SomeUniqueStringThing
      Content-Type: application/octet-stream; name=AA3D1EAC.TH0
      Content-Transfer-Encoding: Base64
      Content-Disposition: inline; filename=AA3D1EAC.TH0

      //xQAAABXAwAAAAAAAAAAAACiAAAAAAAAAAHAAcAKAAAAElCTV9MUwDDAAAA
      ACwBHAAAAcQBxAFIAAABDT01QTRTAFtSRVFVRVNURVJdLFtBUEldLFtCT09L
      FUUlOU1RBTExdLFtVUE1FWFRdRVSU0VSVkVSXSxbRE9TTEFOQVBJXSxbR1VJ
      JUEJPQVJEXSxbTVNHUE9QVVBdR1JTkdVSV0A5QAAAAAAAAAIAAgA2wAAAAIA
      AUkVMRUFTRQA1AAgBAAAAAAAAA0AAAADAAMABQEAAFZFUlNJT04AMDQAKAEA
      GAAYAIAEAAAIAAgAmAQAAT1NSMBJAQAAAAAAAAYABgBAAQAAAwADAEYBAABP
      0MABwAQAAAAAAAAUABQBhAQAAAYBAABQQVRIAEs6XElCTUxBTgAAAAAAAAAA
      IAQAAEQARAJEBAABJTlNUVFlQTRSWShSRVFVRVNURVIpAI4CAAC/AQAAAAAA
      2AQAASUJNX0xBTlgA4QEAAAAAAgA1wEAAAIAAgDfAQAAUkVMRUFTRQA1AAQC
      ACAAIAPkBAAADAAMAAQIAAFZF04AMTIAJAIAAAAAAAAGAAYAHAIAAAIAAgAi
      SRUwAMgBFAgAAAAAAAAYABgA8AADAEICAABPU1ZFUgA0MABsAgAAAAAAAAUA
      ACgAKAGICAABQQVRIAEs6XElCQAAAAAAAAAAAAgACACEAgAAAgACAIwCAABS
      IADEAAAAAAKoCAAAAAAAACAAIABJQk1fVVBNAMwCAAAAAAAACAAIAMICAAAC
      AAFJFTEVBU0UANQDvAgAAAAAAADkAgAAAwADAOwCAABWRVJTSU9OADA0AA8D
      ABgAGAAcDAAACAAIADQMAAE9TDIAMAMAAAAAAAAGAAYAJwMAAAMAAwAtAwAA
      VIANDAAAAAAAAAAAAAFAAUASAMAACgBNAwAAUEFUSABLOlxNVUdMSUIACy==

      --SomeUniqueStringThing--
      --snip--


  7.2 MIME Headers and Base64 encoding
  ------------------------------------
  Mime headers can be a touchy subject when trying to implement an
  easy to use decodable scheme. Many programs tend to use different
  flavours of MIME headers, and can therefore create a bit of a
  headache when trying to decode them.  These simple guidelines will
  ensure that a file can be decoded by  standard MIME mail programs
  as well as SEAT compatible readers.  It is important to understand
  that they are intended merely as a subset of MIME that will be,
  nevertheless, compatible with MIME enabled mail readers. S.E.A.T.
  does not require that a given mailer be able to correctly interpret
  any MIME message.  Wherever possible though, authors are encouraged
  to make more robust MIME parsers.

  Base64 Encoded Messages
  -----------------------
  There are required control lines that need to be placed in the
  message header in order for e-mail clients to correctly determine
  that a message is a MIME format message. These two lines are
  basically:

      MIME-Version: 1.0
      Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary=<boundary string>

  The boundary string is a unique string that you create for your
  MIME format messages. Implementations should be aware that for
  the Content-Type: line as mentioned above, some e-mail readers
  place quotations around the <boundary string>.

  Other changes required to an e-mail message to make it MIME
  compliant:

      Following the Ftn-* control lines:

      --<boundary string>
      Content-Type: application/octet-stream; name=<filename>
      Content-Transfer-Encoding: Base64
      Content-Disposition: inline; filename=<filename>

      (Base64 encoding of the file part goes here)

      --<boundary string>--

  Note that this forces MIME implementations to use Base64 encoding
  and the prescribed Content-Type.  Future revisions may allow
  different Content-Transfer-Encodings and Content-Types.  Developers
  who choose to support the MIME encoding should check the
  Content-Type and Content-Transfer-Encoding strings to ensure their
  program can interpret them correctly: if it can't, an Ftn-Error
  response is required with  the UM (unsupported MIME format) error.
  If the guidelines given here are followed explicitly, there should
  be no problems.  Developers who want to provide more MIME support
  in their programs are encouraged to examine the MIME RFCs (RFCs
  2045-2049), especially 2045, to ensure their program is compliant.
  The MIME RFCs can be found at
    http://info.internet.isi.edu:80/in-notes/rfc/files.

  For ease of implementation, developers must ensure that the
  Content- lines are sent in the order given above.

  7.3 Optional keywords
  ---------------------

  7.3.1 Transmission keywords
  ---------------------------
  Ftn-Freq: FILEMASK.EXT

    This line allows for standard file requesting. The format of
    FILEMASK.EXT may contain any valid DOS filename or wildcards, and
    may be accompanied by a password such as:

    Ftn-Freq: THEFILES.RAR |PASSWORD

    The | character is not part of the password itself, but rather a
    seperator between the filename and password. The single space
    between the filemask and password is required, and must not be
    more than one single space. Please note that this file name/mask
    may include long file names as used in more advanced operating
    systems.  Although the FILEMASK.EXT may match more than one file
    locally, only one FILEMASK.EXT at a time may be provided after the
    Ftn-Freq.


  Ftn-Auth: c349f4d113a4d38afd5327c3328d6c37

    This field can be used as both error detection and authentication
    for messages sent.  The field's value is the MD5 digest of the
    file enclosed in the message, printed in hexadecimal.  (Developers
    are referred to RFC 1321 for an implementation of MD5.)  Nearly
    all errors in  transmission will be detected by discrepancies in
    the value given here and the one calculated on the reconstructed
    message. This field can be used in addition to the Ftn-Crc32 field
    for verifying a file has arrived intact.  It should not be used in
    replacement though, in case the receiving system doesn't support
    the Ftn-Auth keyword.

    The Ftn-Auth value can also be used by systems to setup a system
    of authentication of messages.  Two systems wanting to make sure
    files are transmitted unmodified and from the source they say
    they're transmitted from can establish a session level password.
    The digest value is calculated on a string formed by adding the
    file's bytes to the end of the session level password.

    Session level passwords should be case and space sensitive.  They
    must match exactly.  This is to discourage would-be forgers from
    trying to find the password by brute force.  It is suggested, but
    not required, that passwords be at least 10 characters long, again
    to discourage brute force attacks against them.


  Ftn-Crypt: Blowfish

    Systems wishing to establish even more secure connections can use
    encryption to hide the contents of the files they are
    transmitting. The Ftn-Crypt field's value is the name of the
    encryption algorithm used.  Suggested implementations include
       Blowfish
       IDEA
       DES
       PGP2            (PGP version 2.x or lower)
       PGP5            (PGP version 5.0 or higher)
    There may still be implementation differences beyond just the
    algorithm used, as most allow different block sizes and stream
    types.  In order to ensure that one implementation can talk to
    the other, block based encryption algorithms (such as Blowfish,
    IDEA, etc.) must use 64 bit blocks and CFB encoding.

    Because encryption replaces the files with encrypted copies, the
    CRC and MD5 digest values generated in the Ftn-Crc32,
    Ftn-Part-Crc32 and Ftn-Auth must be calculated to match that of
    the actual file transmitted.  That is to say, first the MD5 and
    CRC values are calculated, and then the file is encrypted.  This
    allows implementations to detect files corrupted by both
    transmission errors and bad passwords.  The response to either
    type of error is still an Ftn-Receipt: <Id> NACK line.

    The main point of attack on most of the encryption algorithms
    used will be a brute force attack on the password, where
    applicable.  In systems which use passwords, the two systems must
    use passwords which match exactly, case-sensitively.  (i.e. the
    password Something would not work to decrypt a file encrypted with
    the password something.)

    Systems can introduce their own encryption algorithms if they so
    desire, but when using the Ftn-Crypt line, their strings must be
    preceeded by X-.  For instance, one value might be Ftn-Crypt:
    X-Mycrypt

    If a system supporting the Ftn-Crypt field receives a file
    encrypted with an algorithm it doesn't recognize, it should
    respond with an Ftn-Error: CA line.  (See the Ftn-Error section
    for more details.)

8. Last Notes
-------------
  The control lines and format outlined in this document must all be
  followed correctly. All control lines for a given level should be
  present (regardless of whether or not you feel they are required).
  Even in the case of a single non-split message, the control lines
  should all be in place to make parsing easier, and to assure all
  software receives all the information it may require to function.
  Also, it is imperative that all implementations provide basic
  uuencoding as the bare minimal encoding method.


A. References
-------------

  JAM
    "Joaquim-Andrew-Mats Message Base Proposal" Revision 1, 1993.

  ISO 3309
    International Organization for Standardization, "Information
    Processing Systems--Data Communication High-Level Data Link
    Control Procedure--Frame Structure", ISO 3309, October 1984,
    3rd Edition.

  ITU-T V.42
    International Telecommunications Union, Error-correcting
    Procedures for DCEs Using Asynchronous-to-Synchronous Conversion,
    ITU-T Recommendation V.42, 1994, Rev. 1.

  RFC 1952
    "GZIP file format specification version 4.3"

  RFC 2823
    "PPP over Simple Data Link (SDL) using SONET/SDH with ATM-like
    framing"

  Williams93
    "A PAINLESS GUIDE TO CRC ERROR DETECTION ALGORITHMS" version 3.
    Ross N. Williams, 19 August 1993
    ftp://ftp.rocksoft.com/papers/crc_v3.txt


B. Author contact data
----------------------

  Charles Cruden
  Fidonet: 1:342/806


C. History
----------

  Rev.1, 20040515: Initial release (was: FSP-1015.001).
                   FTSC changes:
                     * Fixed formatting & removed FSP annotations.
                     * Added references for CRC32 algorithm.
                     * Removed obsolete author contact information.

**********************************************************************



-- Scott Little  [fidonet#3:712/848 / sysgod@sysgod.org]

--- GoldED+/W32 1.1.5-31012
 * Origin: Cyberia: 100% Grade "A" mansteak baby. (3:712/848)