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FTSC                             FIDONET TECHNICAL STANDARDS COMMITTEE
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Publication:    FSP-1002
Revision:       2
Title:          Numeric reply indication in FTN subject lines
Author:         Odinn Sorensen, 2:236/77
Revision Date:  19 October 1997
Expiry Date:    11 October 1999
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Contents:
               1. Scope
               2. Format
               3. Reply procedure
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Status of this document
-----------------------

 This document is a Fidonet Standards Proposal (FSP).

 This document specifies an optional Fidonet standard protocol for
 the Fidonet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
 improvements.

 This document is released to the public domain, and may be used,
 copied or modified for any purpose whatever.


Abstract
--------

 When making a reply to a message, there are currently three common
 ways to handle the subject line:

 1. Don't change it.
 2. Insert the string "Re: " in front of it.
 3. Insert the string "Re^n: " in front of it, where 'n' is increased
    by one if the original subject was already a reply.

 This document concerns itself with specifying the third variant.


1. Scope
--------

 This standard is specified for all FTN messages. Implementations
 will typically be message editors and other software that creates
 replies to messages.


2. Format
---------

 The format is "Re^n: ", where n is an unsigned integer number with
 one or more digits. The range of the number must be at least 0 to
 255. Negative numbers are not allowed. Note that there must be a
 space after the colon. The letters are not case sensitive, but
 uppercase 'R' and lowercase 'e' is recommended.


3. Reply procedure
------------------

 When making a reply that conforms to this specification, this
 procedure, or a functionally identical one, must be followed:

 1. If the original subject does not have a leading "Re: " or
    "Re^n: ", put the string "Re: " in front of it. Don't use a
    number here.

    Example:   "Hello world"  ->  "Re: Hello world"

 2. If the original subject has a leading "Re: ", put the string
    "Re^2: " in front of the subject.

    Example:   "Re: Hello world"  ->  "Re^2: Hello world"

 3. If the original subject has a leading "Re^n: ", increase the
    number 'n' by one and modify the subject accordingly.

    Example:   "Re^4: Hello world"  ->  "Re^5: Hello world"

 Notes:

 * The numbers 0 and 1 should not occur in the "Re^n: " string under
   normal circumstances, but a robust implementation should just
   increase the number in any case.

 * The number should not be increased beyond the range of the number
   type used in the implementation, or in other words, it should not
   roll around to zero. If it can't be increased, leave it alone.

 * When inserting the "Re: " or "Re^n: " string in front of the
   subject, information from the end might be lost, because the
   message storage or packet formats use fixed length subject fields.
   Intelligent subject-based reply linking software should be aware
   of this and try to link correctly anyway.


A. Author contact data
----------------------

 Odinn Sorensen
 Fidonet: 2:236/77
 E-mail:  [email protected]
 WWW:     http://www.goldware.dk


B. History
----------

 Rev.1, 971011: First release.
 Rev.2, 971019: Added note that "Re" is not case sensitive.


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