Encoding header field for internet messages

1. Status of the Memo This RFC proposes an elective experimental Encoding header field to permit the mailing of multi-part, multi-structured messages. Distribution of this memo is unlimited. 2. Introduction RFC 822 [2] defines an electronic mail message to consist of two parts, the message header and the message body, separated by an apparently blank line. The Encoding header field permits the message body itself to be further broken up into parts, each part also separated from the next by an apparently blank line. Thus, conceptually, a message has a header part, followed by one or more body parts, all separated by blank lines. Each body part has an encoding type. The default (no Encoding field in the header) is a message body of one part of type "text". 3. The Encoding Field The Encoding field consists of one or more subfields, separated by commas. Each subfield corresponds to a part of the message, in the order of that part's appearance. A subfield consists of a line count, a keyword defining the encoding, and optional information relevant only to the specific encoding. The line count is optional in the last subfield.