RFC 2958
The application/whoispp-response Content-type
RFC 2958: The application/whoispp-response Content-type 🎀
okay bestie, this one is a whole vibe 💖 it's an Informational doc (so it's not a standard, just info) written by Leslie L. Daigle (Thinking Cat Enterprises) and Patrik Faltstrom (Cisco Systems Inc.), dated October 2000. It doesn't obsolete or update anything, since there's no Obsoletes or Updates line in the title block. It's about how Whois++ responses get wrapped up as a MIME type so mail software can carry them around 📬
Status of this Memo ✨
This memo provides information for the Internet community. It does not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
Copyright Notice 🌸
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2000). All Rights Reserved.
Abstract 🦋
ok so this doc defines how Whois++ protocol responses (RFC1835) get expressed inside MIME media types (RFC2046). the goal, together with RFC 2957, is to let MIME-enabled mail software, and other systems using Internet media types, actually do Whois++ transactions. main character energy for mail clients 💅
1. MIME Registration Information 📝
this is the registration form, sent to IANA, for the new media type. here's how it looks:
To: iana@isi.edu Subject: Registration of MIME media type
application/whoispp-response
MIME Type name: Application
MIME subtype name: whoispp-response
Required parameters: none
Optional parameters: none
Encoding considerations: Any valid MIME encodings may be used
Security considerations: This content-type contains purely
descriptive information (i.e., no directives). There are security
considerations with regards to the appropriateness (privacy) of
information provided through the use of this content-type, and the
authenticity of the information so-provided. This content-type
provides no native mechanisms for authentication.
Published specification: this document
Person & email address to contact for further information:
Leslie L. Daigle
leslie@thinkingcat.com
Intended usage: commonso the vibe check: it has no required or optional parameters, any valid MIME encoding is fine 🫶 and the content is purely descriptive, no directives. but 😭 privacy and authenticity are real concerns, and there's zero built-in authentication. just saying.
2. whoispp-response Syntax 🧚
this grammar uses ABNF-like notation from [RFC2234] and describes a subset of the responses a Whois++ server is expected to send back after getting a valid Whois++ query. so it's basically the expected shape of a whoispp-response media type object 🎀
N.B.: as outlined in the ABNF definition, rule names and string literals are in the US-ASCII character set, and are case-insensitive. don't forget this one, it matters ✨
here's the whole grammar, exactly as it is:
server = goodmessage mnl output mnl endmessage nl
/ badmessage nl endmessage nl
output = full / abridged / summary / handle
full = 0*(full-record / server-to-ask)
abridged = 0*(abridged-record / server-to-ask)
summary = summary-record
handle = 0*(handle-record / server-to-ask)
full-record = "# FULL " template serverhandle localhandle
system-nl
1*(fulldata system-nl)
"# END" system-nl
abridged-record = "# ABRIDGED " template serverhandle localhandle
system-nl
abridgeddata
"# END" system-nl
summary-record = "# SUMMARY " serverhandle system-nl
summarydata
"# END" system-nl
handle-record = "# HANDLE " template serverhandle localhandle
system-nl
server-to-ask = "# SERVER-TO-ASK " serverhandle system-nl
server-to-askdata
"# END" system-nl
fulldata = " " attributename ": " attributevalue
abridgeddata = " " 0*( attributevalue / tab )
summarydata = " Matches: " number system-nl
[" Referrals: " number system-nl]
" Templates: " template 0*( system-nl "-"
template)
server-to-ask-data = " Server-Handle:" serverhandle system-nl
" Host-Name: " hostname system-nl
" Host-Port: " number system-nl
[" Protocol: " prot system-nl]
0*(" " labelstring ": " labelstring system-nl)
attributename = 1*attrbyte
attrbyte = <%d33-127 except specialbyte>
attributevalue = longstring
template = labelstring
serverhandle = labelstring
localhandle = labelstring
hostname = labelstring
prot = labelstring
longstring = bytestring 0*( nl ( "+" / "-" ) bytestring )
bytestring = 0*charbyte
labelstring = 0*restrictedbyte
restrictedbyte = <%d32-%d255 except specialbyte>
charbyte = <%d32-%d255 except nl>
specialbyte = ":" / " " / tab / nl
tab = %d09
mnl = 1*system-nl
system-nl = nl [ 1*(message nl) ]
nl = %d13 %d10
message = [1*( messagestart "-" bytestring nl)]
messagestart " " bytestring nl
messagestart = "% " digit digit digit
goodmessage = [1*( goodmessagestart "-" bytestring nl)]
goodmessagestart " " bytestring nl
goodmessagestart= "% 200"
messagestart = "% " digit digit digit
badmessage = [1*( badmessagestart "-" bytestring nl)]
badmessagestart " " bytestring nl
badmessagestart = "% 5" digit digit
endmessage = endmessageclose
endmessageclose = [endmessagestart " " bytestring nl]
byemessage
endmessagestart = "% 226"
byemessage = byemessagestart " " bytestring nl
endmessagestart = "% 203"
number = 1*( digit )
digit = "0" / "1" / "2" / "3" / "4" / "5" / "6" / "7"
/ "8" / "9"3. Security Considerations 🔐
security issues are discussed in section 1. go read that section again, it's the important bit 👑
4. References 📚
these are all the sources the doc cites, every one of them:
[ALVE95] Alvestrand H., "Tags for the Identification of Languages",
RFC 1766, March 1995.
[RFC2234] Crocker, D. and P. Overell, "Augmented BNF for Syntax
Specifications: ABNF", RFC 2234, November 1997.
[RFC2957] Daigle, L. and P. Faltstrom, "The application/whoispp-query
Content-Type", RFC 2957, October 2000.
[RFC1835] Deutsch, P., Schoultz R., Faltstrom P. and C. Weider,
"Architecture of the WHOIS++ service", RFC 1835, August
1995.
[HARR85] Harrenstein, K., Stahl, M. and E. Feinler, "NICNAME/WHOIS",
RFC 954, October 1985.
[POST82] Postel J., "Simple Mail Transfer Protocol", STD 10, RFC
821, August 1982.
[IIIR] Weider C. and P. Deutsch, "A Vision of an Integrated
Internet Information Service", RFC 1727, December 1994.
[WINDX] Weider, C., Fullton J. and S. Spero, "Architecture of the
Whois++ Index Service", RFC 1913, February 1996.5. Authors' Addresses 💌
the two authors and how to reach them:
Leslie L. Daigle
Thinking Cat Enterprises
Email: leslie@thinkingcat.com
Patrik Faltstrom
Cisco Systems Inc
170 W Tasman Drive SJ-13/2
San Jose CA 95134
USA
EMail: paf@cisco.com
URL: http://www.cisco.com6. Full Copyright Statement ⭐
the legal bits, kept complete. the gist: you can copy and share this document, and make derivative works that comment on or explain it or help implement it, as long as the copyright notice and this paragraph stay on every copy 🌈
the doc itself can't be modified in any way, such as removing the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or other Internet organizations. the exceptions are developing Internet standards (in which case the Internet Standards process copyright procedures must be followed) or translating it into languages other than English.
the permissions are perpetual and won't be revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns.
the document and the information in it are provided on an "AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS 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.
Acknowledgement 🫶
funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the Internet Society. thank you, legends 🍓
📦 where this page comes from
- ietf: rfc2958 2000-10
- 💖 girlified by claude-haiku-5-5 on : a language model's rewrite of the original, under its terms