vCard Extensions for Instant Messaging
(IM)Cisco Systems170 West Tasman DriveMS: SJC-21/2San JoseCA95134USA+1 408 902-3341fluffy@cisco.comThis document describes an extension to vCard to support Instant
Messaging (IM) and Presence Protocol (PP) applications. IM and PP are
becoming increasingly common ways of communicating, and users want to
save this contact information in their address books. This draft allows
a URI that is associated with IM or PP to be specified inside of a
vCard.The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
"SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119.As more and more people use various instant messaging (IM) and
presence protocol (PP) applications, it becomes important for them to be
able to share this contact address information along with the rest of
their contact information. RFC 2425 and
RFC 2426 define a standard format for this
information, which is referred to as vCard. This document defines a new
type in a vCard for representing instant IM and PP URIs. It is very
similar to existing types for representing email address and telephone
contact information.The type entry to hold this new contact information is an IMPP type.
The IMPP entry has a single URI that indicates the address of a service
that provides IM, PP, or both. Also defined are some parameters that
give hints as to when certain URIs would be appropriate. A given vCard
can have multiple IMPP entries, but each entry can contain only one URI.
Each IMPP entry can contain multiple parameters. Any combination of
parameters is valid, although a parameter should occur at most once in a
given IMPP entry.The type of URI indicates what protocols might be usable for
accessing it, but this document does not define any of the types. For
example a URI type of"sip" indicates to use
SIP/SIMPLE,"xmpp" indicates to
use XMPP,"irc" indicates to use
IRC,"ymsgr" indicates to use yahoo,"msn" might indicate to use Microsoft messenger,"aim" indicates to use AOL, and"im" or "pres" indicates to use a CPIM or CPP gateway.The normative definition of this new vCard type is given in , and an informational ABNF is provided in .The required email to define this extension (as defined in RFC2425)
was sent on October 29, 2004 to the ietf-mime-direct@imc.org mailing
list with the subject "Registration of text/directory MIME type
IMPP".This specification updates the "text/directory MIME Types"
subregistry in the "text/directory MIME Registrations" registry at
http://www.iana.org/assignments/text-directory-registrations with the
following information:Type name: IMPPType purpose: To specify the URI for instant messaging and presence
protocol communications with the object the vCard represents.Type encoding: 8bitType value: A single URI. The type of the URI indicates the protocol
that can be used for this contact.Type special notes: The type can include the type parameter "TYPE" to
specify an intended use for the URI. The TYPE parameter values can
include:An indication of the type of communication for which this URI is
appropriate. This can be a value of PERSONAL or BUSINESS.An indication of the location of a device associated with this
URI. Values can be HOME, WORK, or MOBILE.The value PREF indicates this is a preferred address and has the
same semantics as the PREF value in a TEL type.Additional information can be found in RFCAAAA.Intended usage: COMMON[Note to IANA: Please replace AAAA with the RFC number for this
specification.]The following ABNF grammar extends the
grammar found in RFC 2425 and RFC 2426.This does not introduce additional security issues beyond the current
vCard specification. It is worth noting that many people consider their
presence information more sensitive than other address information. Any
system that stores or transfers vCards needs to carefully consider the
privacy issues around this information.Thanks to Paul Hoffman, Sam Roberts and Pekka Pessi for their
comments.A MIME
-- --Content-Type for Directory InformationNetscape Communications Corp.501 East Middlefield Rd.Mountain ViewCA 94041USA+1.415.937.3419howes@netscape.comNetscape Communications Corp.501 East Middlefield Rd.Mountain ViewCA 94041USA+1.415.937.3477mcs@netscape.comLotus Development Corporation6544 Battleford DriveRaleighNC 27613USA+1-919-676-9515frank_dawson@lotus.com
Applications
MIMEcontent-typedirectorymultipurpose internet mail extensionsvCard MIME Directory ProfileLotus Development Corporation6544 Battleford DriveRaleighNC 27613USA+1-919-676-9515frank_dawson@lotus.comNetscape Communications Corp.501 East Middlefield Rd.Mountain ViewCA 94041USA+1.415.937.3419howes@netscape.com
Applications
MIMEaudiocontent-typedirectorymultipurpose internet mail extensionsKey words for use in RFCs to Indicate
Requirement LevelsHarvard University1350 Mass. Ave.CambridgeMA 02138- +1 617 495 3864-
General
keywordAugmented
BNF for Syntax Specifications: ABNFInternet Mail Consortium675 Spruce Dr.SunnyvaleCA94086US+1 408 246 8253+1 408 249 6205dcrocker@imc.orgDemon Internet LtdDorking Business ParkDorkingSurreyEnglandRH4 1HNUKpaulo@turnpike.comUniform Resource Locator Schemes for Internet Relay Chat
EntitiesSIP: Session Initiation ProtocolXMPP URI FormatCommon Profile for Presence (CPP)Common Profile for Instant Messaging (CPIM)