[ih] SMTP History

[Dave Crocker]

On 3/28/2022 2:07 PM, Jack Haverty via Internet-history wrote:
> There are artifacts in the RFCs capturing some of the early work. FTP 
> began circa 1971 with RFC172.  At the same time, there was discussion of 
> a "Mail Box Protocol" intended to enable functions like remote printing 
> as a way of sending something to someone else over the ARPANET.   You 
> just send it to their printer.   See RFCs 196, 221.
> 
> At first, FTP added a "MAIL <user>" command, which each machine 
> receiving such MAIL could process as it saw fit.  Print it out.


RFC 354 (July 1972 and edited by Abhay Bhushan) does not contain the 
string 'mail'.

RFC 475 (March, 1973 and edited by Abhay Bhushan) discusses FTP's MAIL 
and MLFL commands. It is a meeting report discussing agreement to create 
those commands.

RFC 542 (August 1973 and edited by Nancy Neigus) does not contain the 
string 'mail'.

RFC 765 (Aug, 1973 and edit by Jon Postel) does. But while is cites a 
mail command, it does not specify it.


d/

-- 
Dave Crocker
Brandenburg InternetWorking
bbiw.net