

MIME type name:		application

(If the above is not an existing top-level MIME type,
please explain why an existing type cannot be used.)

MIME subtype name:	activemessage

Required parameters:	none

Optional parameters:	none

Encoding considerations:

Currently, the content of the activemessage subtype is of the form:

<host identifier> <application identifier>

where <host identifier> is an internet host name or number and
<application identifier> could be any alphanumeric string. 


The effect of "opening" the activemessage is that the user becomes
connected to the Active Mail application <application identifier>
residing on host <host identifier>.


Security considerations:

An application identifier is similar to a password to enter a
particular  Active Mail application (such as a conversation, document,
etc.) running on host <host address>.  It is up to the
user/application to choose public (well known) names, for openly
accessible applications, or sparse names for private applications,
as well as to protect the names known to them.

Active Mail can incorporate more sophisticated security mechanisms,
based on public keys, but they are not being planned at present.


