RFC Errata
RFC 5322, "Internet Message Format", October 2008
Note: This RFC has been updated by RFC 6854
Source of RFC: IETF - NON WORKING GROUPArea Assignment: app
Errata ID: 5712
Status: Rejected
Type: Technical
Publication Format(s) : TEXT
Reported By: Victor Shrubowich
Date Reported: 2019-04-29
Rejected by: Barry Leiba
Date Rejected: 2019-04-30
Section 3.2.2 says:
FWS = ([*WSP CRLF] 1*WSP) / obs-FWS
; Folding white space
It should say:
FWS = ([*WSP] CRLF 1*WSP) / obs-FWS
; Folding white space
Notes:
Both section 2.2.3 and part of section 3.2.2 ("Wherever folding appears in a message (that is, a header field body containing a CRLF followed by any WSP)") describe folding as adding CRLF followed by WSP, so CRLF is required for folding. However, the CRLF in the FWS rule is shown inside the square brackets, which would make it optional. It should not be inside the square brackets.
Square brackets: section 1.2.2 states "This specification uses the Augmented Backus-Naur Form (ABNF) [RFC5234] notation for the formal definitions of the syntax of messages." In RFC 5234, section 3.8 states "Square brackets enclose an optional element sequence".
--VERIFIER NOTES--
The FWS construct shows where folding is permitted (where CRLF *can* appear). The mechanism for actual folding is described in the text, and won't happen at each instance of FWS. Having the CRLF be optional is intentional and necessary.