2.1.7 Message-ID

The Message-ID line gives the article a unique identifier. The same message ID may not be reused during the lifetime of any article with the same message ID. (It is recommended that no message ID be reused for at least two years.) Message ID's have the syntax

     "<" "string not containing blank or >" ">"

In order to conform to RFC 822, the Message-ID must have the format

     "<" "unique" "@" "full domain name" ">"

where "full domain name" is the full name of the host at which the article entered the network, including a domain that host is in, and unique is any string of printing ASCII characters, not including "<", ">", or "@". For example, the "unique" part could be an integer representing a sequence number for articles submitted to the network, or a short string derived from the date and time the article was created. For example, valid message ID for an article submitted from site ucbvax in domain Berkeley.ARPA would be "<4123@ucbvax.Berkeley.ARPA>". Programmers are urged not to make assumptions about the content of message ID fields from other hosts, but to treat them as unknown character strings. It is not safe, for example, to assume that a message ID will be under 14 characters, nor that it is unique in the first 14 characters.

The angle brackets are considered part of the message ID. Thus, in references to the message ID, such as the ihave/sendme and cancel control messages, the angle brackets are included. White space characters (e.g., blank and tab) are not allowed in a message ID. All characters between the angle brackets must be printing ASCII characters.