| Email as we know it is useful only because it is interoperable. I can read the email you send me, no matter what kind of system you used to send it and no matter what kind of system I use to read it. As long as we all use software that adheres to the open standards, we can all get along just fine. The first part of this book first describes the scope of current Internet standards for email, messaging, and workgroup applications, and then continues by building a foundation for understanding what Internet standards are and how they work.
Chapter 1, “Internet Email Standards,” examines why email and related technologies require standards while introducing the technologies themselves. Chapter 2, “Internet Standards and Internet Protocols,” examines Internet standards and Internet protocols. Chapter 3, “Internet Standards Bodies,” explains the organizations involved in creating Internet protocols and setting Internet standards. Chapter 4, “The Internet Standards Process,” describes the processes involved in building an Internet standard. Chapter 5, “Getting the RFCs,” provides guidance for finding Internet standards as they are described in Request for Comments (RFC) documents, and Chapter 6, “Reading the RFCs,” explains how to read and use RFCs. |
