X-Face
Encyclopedia
An X-Face is a small bitmap
(48 × 48 pixels, black and white) image which is added to a Usenet
posting or e-mail
message, typically showing a picture of the author's face. The image data is included in the posting as encoded text, and attached with an 'X-Face' header
. It was devised by James Ashton.
It is one of the outgrowths of the Vismon
program developed at Bell Labs
in the 1980s. While many programs support X-Face, most of them are free software
and based on Unix
or its variations, such as KMail or Sylpheed
. The most common email programs though, as used in business and most domestic environments, do not handle X-Face, and the information is silently ignored. Even where Unix is widely used (university and research environments), it has never been adopted to maximum potential (for example, by searching for senders by X-Face).
A further development is the Face header developed in 2005, which also allows for color images in PNG format, and can be used by the Thunderbird MessageFaces plugin and some other mail readers.
Another approach to include the sender's picture in an e-mail was used by Apple: Mail.app displayed the picture if the mail included a header called: X-Image-URL. In 1992, this feature was implemented in NeXTmail - the Mail.app's ancestor. X-Image-URL accepts http or (anonymous) ftp to download the picture; typical size 64x64 pixels. In Mail.app v4.5, this feature does not exist anymore, but see here how the X-Image-URL header used by Mail.app was set.
Bitmap
In computer graphics, a bitmap or pixmap is a type of memory organization or image file format used to store digital images. The term bitmap comes from the computer programming terminology, meaning just a map of bits, a spatially mapped array of bits. Now, along with pixmap, it commonly refers to...
(48 × 48 pixels, black and white) image which is added to a Usenet
Usenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
posting or e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
message, typically showing a picture of the author's face. The image data is included in the posting as encoded text, and attached with an 'X-Face' header
Header (information technology)
In information technology, header refers to supplemental data placed at the beginning of a block of data being stored or transmitted. In data transmission, the data following the header are sometimes called the payload or body....
. It was devised by James Ashton.
It is one of the outgrowths of the Vismon
Vismon
Vismon was the Bell Labs system which displayed authors' faces on one of their internal e-mail systems. The name was a pun on the sysmon program used at Bell to show the load on computer systems. It can also be interpreted as "visual monitor"...
program developed at Bell Labs
Bell Labs
Bell Laboratories is the research and development subsidiary of the French-owned Alcatel-Lucent and previously of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company , half-owned through its Western Electric manufacturing subsidiary.Bell Laboratories operates its...
in the 1980s. While many programs support X-Face, most of them are free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
and based on Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
or its variations, such as KMail or Sylpheed
Sylpheed
Sylpheed is an open source e-mail client and news client licensed under the GPL. It provides easy configuration and an abundance of features. It stores mail in the MH Message Handling System. Sylpheed runs on Unix-like systems such as Linux or BSD as well as on Mac OS X and Windows. It uses...
. The most common email programs though, as used in business and most domestic environments, do not handle X-Face, and the information is silently ignored. Even where Unix is widely used (university and research environments), it has never been adopted to maximum potential (for example, by searching for senders by X-Face).
A further development is the Face header developed in 2005, which also allows for color images in PNG format, and can be used by the Thunderbird MessageFaces plugin and some other mail readers.
Another approach to include the sender's picture in an e-mail was used by Apple: Mail.app displayed the picture if the mail included a header called: X-Image-URL. In 1992, this feature was implemented in NeXTmail - the Mail.app's ancestor. X-Image-URL accepts http or (anonymous) ftp to download the picture; typical size 64x64 pixels. In Mail.app v4.5, this feature does not exist anymore, but see here how the X-Image-URL header used by Mail.app was set.
See also
- iChatIChatiChat is an instant messaging software application developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its Mac OS X operating system. It has audio, video and screen-sharing capabilities as well as text messaging...
has a similar though not compatible feature called picture icons - MushroomheadMushroomheadMushroomhead is an American industrial metal band from Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in 1993 in Cleveland Warehouse District, the band's music can be described as a synthesis of alternative music, heavy metal, and electro-industrial...