JWZ on the mbox Format

Speaking of mbox, an oldie-but-goodie from JWZ on the mbox format specification, or lack thereof:

RFCs specify internet protocols, that is, on-the-wire formats. The thing that the original poster is looking for is a description of the BSD Mailbox file format (which is not something an RFC would cover.)

But, here’s the good news, there is no true specification of this file format, just a collection of word-of-mouth behaviors of the various programs over the last few decades which have used that format.

★ Thursday, 6 July 2006