Internet Message Access Protocol (imap)
---------------------------------------
 
 Charter 
 
 Chair(s):
     Terry Gray  <gray@cac.washington.edu>
 
 Applications Area Director(s) 
     Brewster Kahle  <Brewster@wais.com>
     Erik Huizer  <Erik.Huizer@SURFnet.nl>
 
 Mailing lists: 
     General Discussion:imap@cac.washington.edu
     To Subscribe:      imap-request@cac.washington.edu
     Archive:           ftp.cac.washington.edu:~/imap/imap_archive
 
Deecription of Working Group:
 
   The Internet Interactive Mail Access Protocol (IMAP) working group
   is chartered to refine and extend the current IMAP2 protocol as a
   candidate standard for a client-server Internet email protocol to
   manipulate remote mailboxes as if they were local.  An explicit
   objective is to retain compatibility with the growing installed base
   of IMAP2-compliant software.  It is expected that the resulting
   specification will replace both RFC-1176 and the more recent (as yet
   unplublished) IMAP2bis extensions document.

   The IMAP Working Group will also investigate how to provide for
   ``disconnected operation'' capabilities similar to the DMSP protocol
   (RFC-1056, recently relegated to Informational Status) with a goal
   of making it possible for IMAP to replace DMSP.

   A mail access protocol provides a uniform, OS-independent way of
   manipulating message data (email or bulletin board) on a remote
   message store (repository).  Mail user agents implementing such a
   protocol can provide individuals with a consistent view of the
   message store, regardless of what type of computer they are using,
   and regardless of where they are connected in the network.  Multiple
   concurrent sessions accessing a single remote mailbox, and single
   sessions accessing multiple remote mailboxes are both possible with
   this approach.

   This differs from POP3 (RFC-1225) in that POP is a store-and-forward
   transport protocol that allows an MUA to retrieve pending mail from
   a mail drop (where it is then usually deleted automatically),
   whereas IMAP is focused on remote mailbox manipulation rather than
   transport. IMAP differs from various vendor-specific remote access
   approaches in that IMAP is an open protocol designed to scale well
   and accommodate diverse types of client operating systems.

   Security.  Security-related tasks include how to incorporate secure
   authentication mechanisms when establishing a session, and possible
   interactions with Privacy Enhanced Mail.

   It is expected that most of the work of this group will be conducted
   via email.  A goal is to integrate and update RFC-1176 and the
   existing IMAP2bis draft, then submit the result as an Internet draft
   well before the November IETF WG meeting, which would then focus on
   detailed review of the text in preparation for submission as a
   Proposed Standard before the end of 1993.

 
 Goals and Milestones: 
 
   Aug 93 Post an Internet Draft of the revised IMAP 2 protocol.               

   Aug 93 Hold an Interim Working Meeting at UW or CMU.                        

   Nov 93 Hold a Working Group meeting to review the IMAP document.            

   Nov 93 Hold a Working Group meeting at the November IETF meeting.           

   Dec 93 Submit the IMAP protocol to the IESG for consideration as a Proposed 
          Standard.