The EPAmail Service's implementation strongly reflects the objective of providing a minimal, 'necessary-and-sufficient' demonstration. Detailed below are the differences between the EPAmail Service and the EPA Method.
EPAmail Functional Scope:
EPAmail is a filter-and forward service which presumes all e-mail is created and transmitted in from some other Internet domain. No functionality is provided for the domain-internal Internet and LAN e-mail generation that is present in most e-mail environments.
Preferences Representation Format:
EPAmail uses a 'list' format to represent preferences. EPA supports usage of either lists and tables - but only one format per domain. EPA regards a 'list' as a '1-column table'. More about 'lists' and 'tables'
Available Preferences Categories:
Only the Private, Public and Wanted Preferences Categories are supported. No implementation of the New Preferences Category can be supplied in EPAmail because the filter-and forward mode of operation is predicated on servicing e-mail that is created at some remote location. The New Category provides some control of e-mail being prepared for transmission. In an MOD environment where e-mail can be generated and in all OODs, several modes of usage are supported based on the licensee's implementations to address mailbox owner requirements.
Available Preferences Category Types:
Only Empty and Static Preferences Category Types are supported. No implementation of the Dynamic Preferences Category type is supplied as its' functionality is not necessary to achieve the design objectives of the EPAmail Service.
Private Category Restriction:
Only a trusted correspondent's complete e-mail address or Domain Name may be entered.
Natural Language Options:
U.S. English - along with its' associated scanning pattern and character set - is the only natural language supported by EPAmail in its' text comparing operations. An EPA licensee may choose to support other languages - either in addition to or in place of U.S. English.
Text Content Search Scope:
The EPAmail Mail Clerk applies the Wanted Preferences only to the 'SUBJECT:' field of an e-mail. An EPA licensee's implementation may choose to address one or more of an e-mail's Text fields - 'Subject:', Message and Text Attachments.
Text Search Pattern Definition:
EPAmail-provided text search pattern definition components - printable characters, '?' , '*' and implied equality operator - are the minimum sufficient subset needed to provide a valid, verifiable 'proof-of-concept' demonstration. An EPA licensee may choose to define additional pattern components and operators to support more complex compares. The only restriction to such extensions is that only extensions whose application can generate only a 'true' or a 'false' are permitted.
Post-Classification Processing Capacities:
EPAmail's use of the 'list' format for preferences provides only post-classification processing actions are the minimum sufficient subset needed to provide a valid, verifiable 'proof-of-concept' demonstration. AlPreferences Categorieses are consolidated into a single scope insofar as 'wanted' and 'unwanted' mail disposition options are concerned. Hence, in the EPAmail service implementation, only one processing action can be specified for all "wanted" e-mail and only one processing action can be specified for all "unwanted" e-mail.
Other implementation objectives and design decisions are fully supported by the EPA method. Using table-format preferences, EPA supports - but does not require - provision of discrete incoming and outgoing post-classification processing for each entry in eacPreferences categoryry. More about individualized processing
Classification Stamp Usage:
EPAmail's Classification Stamp is a universal post-classification process defined to provide an explanation of classification that's needed to support a valid, verifiable 'proof-of-concept' demonstration. Stamps are 'prepended' to the e-mail "Subject:" field The resultant "Subject:" field appears in the Mail Traffic Log entry for the e-mail. The Log entry for an e-mail can be validated against the Preferences Set History for the mailbox. How? A licensee's implementation may or may not retain such stamping.
EPAmail's Classification Stamps are:
|EPA+1| if an entry in the Private Category was matched.
|EPA+2| if an entry in the Public Category was matched.
|EPA+3| if an entry in the Wanted Category was matched.
|EPA--| if the mail was classified 'Unwanted'.