Instant Message Disposition Notification (IMDN)
RFC 5438

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Network Working Group                                          E. Burger
Request for Comments: 5438                                  Unaffiliated
Category: Standards Track                                   H. Khartabil
                                                      Ericsson Australia
                                                           February 2009

            Instant Message Disposition Notification (IMDN)

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) 2009 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents (http://trustee.ietf.org/
   license-info) in effect on the date of publication of this document.
   Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights
   and restrictions with respect to this document.

Abstract

   Instant Messaging (IM) refers to the transfer of messages between
   users in real-time.  This document provides a mechanism whereby
   endpoints can request Instant Message Disposition Notifications
   (IMDN), including delivery, processing, and display notifications,
   for page-mode instant messages.

   The Common Presence and Instant Messaging (CPIM) data format
   specified in RFC 3862 is extended with new header fields that enable
   endpoints to request IMDNs.  A new message format is also defined to
   convey IMDNs.

   This document also describes how SIP entities behave using this
   extension.

Burger & Khartabil          Standards Track                     [Page 1]
RFC 5438                          IMDN                     February 2009

Table of Contents

   1. Introduction ....................................................3
   2. Conventions .....................................................4
   3. Terminology .....................................................4
   4. Overview ........................................................5
   5. Disposition Types ...............................................6
      5.1. Delivery ...................................................6
      5.2. Processing .................................................6
      5.3. Display ....................................................7
   6. New CPIM Header Fields ..........................................7
      6.1. CPIM Header Field Namespace ................................7
      6.2. Disposition-Notification ...................................8
      6.3. Message-ID .................................................8
      6.4. Original-To ................................................8
      6.5. IMDN-Record-Route ..........................................9
      6.6. IMDN-Route .................................................9
   7. Endpoint Behaviour ..............................................9
      7.1. IM Sender ..................................................9
           7.1.1. Constructing Instant Messages .......................9
           7.1.2. Matching IMs with IMDNs ............................11
           7.1.3. Keeping State ......................................11
           7.1.4. Aggregation of IMDNs ...............................12
      7.2. IM Recipient ..............................................12
           7.2.1. Constructing IMDNs .................................12
   8. Intermediary Behaviour .........................................15
      8.1. Constructing Processing Notifications .....................16
      8.2. Constructing Delivery Notifications .......................17
      8.3. Aggregation of IMDNs ......................................17
   9. Identifying Messages ...........................................19
   10. Header Fields Formal Syntax ...................................20
   11. IMDN Format ...................................................20
      11.1. Structure of an XML-Encoded IMDN Payload .................20
           11.1.1. The <message-id> Element ..........................21
           11.1.2. The <datetime> Element ............................22
           11.1.3. The <recipient-uri> Element .......................22
           11.1.4. The <original-recipient-uri> Element ..............22
           11.1.5. The <subject> Element .............................22
           11.1.6. The <delivery-notification>,
                   <processing-notification>, and
                   <display-notification> Elements ...................22
           11.1.7. The <status> Element ..............................22
           11.1.8. MIME Type for IMDN Payload ........................23