diff --git a/draft-retirement.md b/draft-retirement.md index e5fc38a..231aa63 100644 --- a/draft-retirement.md +++ b/draft-retirement.md @@ -122,82 +122,77 @@ For archival purposes, the last edition of the Tao as published under the proces ## Abstract -This document introduces you to the "ways of the IETF": it will convey the -might and magic of networking people and packets in the Internet's most -prominent standards body. In this document we describe the inner workings of -IETF meetings and Working Groups, discuss organizations related to the IETF, -and introduce the standards process. This is not a formal IETF process -document but an informal and informational overview. +This document introduces you to the "ways of the IETF": it will convey the might and magic of networking people and packets in the Internet's most +prominent standards body. In this document we describe the inner workings of IETF meetings and Working Groups, discuss organizations related to the IETF, +and introduce the standards process. This is not a formal IETF process document but an informal and informational overview. ## Table of Contents -1 Introduction
-1.1 Acronyms and Abbreviations Used in the Tao
-
-2 What is the IETF
-2.1 Humble Beginnings
-2.2 The Hierarchy
-2.2.1 The ISOC (Internet Society) and IETF LLC (IETF Administration LLC)
-2.2.2 Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG)
-2.2.3 Internet Architecture Board (IAB)
-2.2.4 Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)
-2.2.5 RFC Editor and RFC Production Center (RPC)
-2.2.6 IETF Secretariat
-2.2.7 IETF Trust
-2.3 IETF Mailing Lists
-
-3 IETF Meetings
-3.1 Registration
-3.2 Take the Plunge and Stay All Week!
-3.3 Newcomer Training
-3.4 Dress Code
-3.5 Working Group Meetings
-3.6 Seeing Spots Before Your Eyes
-3.7 Terminal Room
-3.8 Meals and Snacks
-3.9 Social Event
-3.10 Agenda
-3.11 EMODIR to the Rescue
-3.12 Where Do I Fit In?
-3.12.1 IT Managers
-3.12.2 Network Operators and ISPs
-3.12.3 Networking Hardware and Software Vendors
-3.12.4 Academics
-3.12.5 Computer Trade Press
-3.13 Proceedings
-3.14 Other General Things
-3.15 Remote Participation
-
-4 Working Groups
-4.1 Working Group Chairs
-4.2 Getting Things Done in a Working Group
-4.3 Working Group Documents
-4.4 Preparing for Working Group Meetings
-4.5 Working Group Mailing Lists
-4.6 Interim Working Group Meetings
-
-5 BOFs
-
-6 RFCs and Internet-Drafts
-6.1 The Overall Process
-6.2 Common Issues
-6.3 Writing an Internet-Draft
-6.3.1 Internet-Draft Language
-6.3.2 About References
-6.3.3 About Required Content
-6.4 Standards-Track RFCs
-6.5 RFCs Other than Standards-Track
-
-7 How to Contribute to the IETF
-7.1 What You Can Do
-7.2 What Your Company Can Do
-
-8 IETF and the Outside World
-8.1 IETF and Other SDOs
-8.2 Press Coverage of the IETF
-
- - +1 [Introduction](#1-Introduction) +1.1 [Acronyms and Abbreviations Used in the Tao](#11-Acronyms-and-Abbreviations-Used-in-the-Tao) + +2 [What is the IETF](#2-what-is-the-ietf) +2.1 [Humble Beginnings](#21-Humble-Beginnings) +2.2 [The Hierarchy](#22-the-hierarchy) +2.2.1 [The ISOC (Internet Society) and IETF LLC (IETF Administration LLC)](#2-what-is-the-ietf) +2.2.2 [Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG)](#222-internet-engineering-steering-group-iesg) +2.2.3 [Internet Architecture Board (IAB)](#223-internet-architecture-board-iab) +2.2.4 [Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)](#224-internet-assigned-numbers-authority-iana) +2.2.5 [RFC Editor and RFC Production Center (RPC)](#225-rfc-editor-and-rfc-production-center-rpc) +2.2.6 [IETF Secretariat](#226-ietf-secretariat) +2.2.7 [IETF Trust](#227-ietf-trust) + +2.3 [IETF Mailing Lists](#23-ietf-mailing-lists) + +3 [IETF Meetings](#3-ietf-meetings) +3.1 [Registration](#31-registration) +3.2 [Take the Plunge and Stay All Week!](#32-take-the-plunge-and-stay-all-week) +3.3 [Newcomer Training](#33-newcomer-training) +3.4 [Dress Code](#34-dress-code) +3.5 [Working Group Meetings](#35-working-group-meetings) +3.6 [Seeing Spots Before Your Eyes](#36-seeing-spots-before-your-eyes) +3.7 [Terminal Room](#37-terminal-room) +3.8 [Meals and Snacks](#38-meals-and-snacks) +3.9 [Social Event](#39-social-event) +3.10 [Agenda](#310-agenda) +3.11 [EMODIR to the Rescue](#311-emodir-to-the-rescue) +3.12 [Where Do I Fit In?](#312-where-do-i-fit-in) +3.12.1 [IT Managers](#3121-it-managers) +3.12.2 [Network Operators and ISPs](#3123-networking-hardware-and-software-vendors) +3.12.3 [Networking Hardware and Software Vendors](#3123-networking-hardware-and-software-vendors) +3.12.4 [Academics](#3124-academics) +3.12.5 [Computer Trade Press](#3125-computer-trade-press) +3.13 [Proceedings](#3125-computer-trade-press) +3.14 [Other General Things](#314-other-general-things) +3.15 [Remote Participation](#315-remote-participation) + +4 [Working Groups](#4-working-groups) +4.1 [Working Group Chairs](#41-working-group-chairs) +4.2 [Getting Things Done in a Working Group](#42-getting-things-done-in-a-working-group) +4.3 [Working Group Documents](#42-getting-things-done-in-a-working-group) +4.4 [Preparing for Working Group Meetings](#44-preparing-for-working-group-meetings) +4.5 [Working Group Mailing Lists](#45-working-group-mailing-lists) +4.6 [Interim Working Group Meetings](#46-interim-working-group-meetings) + +5 [BOFs](#5-bofs-and-dispatching) + +6 [RFCs and Internet-Drafts](#6-rfcs-and-internet-drafts) +6.1 [The Overall Process](#61-the-overall-process) +6.2 [Common Issues](#62-common-issues) +6.3 [Writing an Internet-Draft](#63-writing-an-internet-draft) +6.3.1 [Internet-Draft Language](#63-writing-an-internet-draft) +6.3.2 [About References](#633-about-required-content) +6.3.3 [About Required Content](#633-about-required-content) +6.4 [Standards-Track RFCs](#64-standards-track-rfcs) +6.5 [RFCs Other than Standards-Track](#65-rfcs-other-than-standards-track) + +7 [How to Contribute to the IETF](#7-how-to-contribute-to-the-ietf) +7.1 [What You Can Do](#71-what-you-can-do) +7.2 [What Your Company Can Do](#72-what-your-company-can-do) + +8 [IETF and the Outside World](#8-ietf-and-the-outside-world) +8.1 [IETF and Other SDOs](#81-ietf-and-other-sdos) +8.2 [Press Coverage of the IETF](#82-press-coverage-of-the-ietf) ## 1 Introduction @@ -236,45 +231,34 @@ technical documentation as RFCs, still known by their historical term and BCPs are RFCs that represent thoughts on Best Current Practices in the Internet. Both STDs and BCPs are also RFCs. For example, [BCP 9](https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/bcp9) points to a collection of RFCs that describe the IETF's standardization processes. -See RFCs and Internet-Drafts for more details. - - +See](#6)RFCs and Internet-Drafts for more details. ### 1.1 Acronyms and Abbreviations Used in the Tao Some of the acronyms and abbreviations from this document are listed below. -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
TermMeaning
ADArea Director
BCPBest Current Practice (a type of RFC)
BOFBirds of a Feather
IABInternet Architecture Board
IANAInternet Assigned Numbers Authority
IASAIETF Administrative Support Activity
ICANNInternet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
I-DInternet-Draft
IESGInternet Engineering Steering Group
IPRIntellectual property rights
IRSGInternet Research Steering Group
IRTFInternet Research Task Force
ISOCInternet Society
RFCRequest for Comments
STDStandard (a type of RFC)
WGWorking Group
-
- - +| Term | Meaning | +| -------- | ---------- | +| AD | Area Director | +| BCP | Best Current Practice (a type of RFC) | +| BOF | Birds of a Feather | +| IAB | Internet Architecture Board | +| IANA | Internet Assigned Numbers Authority | +| IASA | IETF Administrative Support Activity | +| ICANN | Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers | +| I-D | Internet-Draft | +| IESG | Internet Engineering Steering Group | +| IPR | Intellectual property rights | +| IRSG | Internet Research Steering Group | +| IRT | Internet Research Task Force | +| ISO | Internet Society | +| RF | Request for Comments | +| STD | Standard (a type of RFC) | +| WG | Working Group | ## 2 What is the IETF? -The IETF has no members and no dues; -it is a loosely self-organized group of people who contribute to the +The IETF has no members and no dues; it is a loosely self-organized group of people who contribute to the engineering and evolution of Internet technologies. It is the principal body engaged in the development of new Internet standard specifications. The IETF is unusual in that it exists as a collection of meetings (both in-person @@ -284,7 +268,7 @@ in which individuals voluntarily participate. The IETF welcomes all interested individuals: IETF participants come from all over the world and from many different parts of the Internet industry. The IETF conducts its work solely in English. -See Where do I fit in? +See](#3-12)Where do I fit in? for information about the ways that many people fit into the IETF. @@ -330,7 +314,7 @@ liberal in what you accept." There is no membership in the IETF. Anyone may sign up to working group mailing lists, or register for a meeting and then attend. The closest thing there is to being an IETF member is being a participant on the IETF or -Working Group mailing lists. This is where the best +Working Group](#2-3)mailing lists. This is where the best information about current IETF activities and focus can be found. Of course, no organization can be as successful as the IETF is without having @@ -354,9 +338,7 @@ patrol, the Internet. If your interest in the IETF is because you want to be part of the overseers, you may be badly disappointed by the IETF. A saying you will sometimes hear is, "we are not the protocol police." - - -### 2.1 Humble Beginnings +### 2.1 Humble Beginnings The first IETF meeting was held in January 1986 at Linkabit in San Diego, with 21 attendees. The 4th IETF, held at SRI in Menlo Park in October 1986, @@ -393,12 +375,8 @@ Remote participation in IETF meetings has been growing significantly in the past few years, thanks in part to the ongoing effort to improve the tools and processes used to facilitate this mode of participation. - - ### 2.2 The Hierarchy - - #### 2.2.1 The Internet Society (ISOC) and the IETF Administration LLC (IETF LLC) The Internet Society (ISOC) is an international, non-profit, membership @@ -431,8 +409,6 @@ The IETF and ISOC continue to be strongly aligned on key principles. ISOC initiatives related to the IETF continue to support participation in, and deployment of, the standards created by the IETF. - - #### 2.2.2 Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) The IESG is responsible for technical management of IETF activities and the @@ -454,34 +430,15 @@ for choosing the members of the IESG is detailed in [BCP 10](https://www.rfc-edi The current Areas and abbreviations are shown below, and [more details](https://www.ietf.org/topics/areas/) are on the IETF web site. -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
AreaDescription
Applications and Real-Time Area (art)Protocols seen by user programs, such as email and the web and - delay-sensitive interpersonal communications
General (gen)IETF process, and catch-all for WGs that don't fit in other Areas - (which is very few)
Internet (int)Different ways of moving IP packets and DNS information
Operations and Management (ops)Network management, AAA, and various operational issues facing the - Internet
Routing (rtg)Getting packets to their destinations
Security (sec)Privacy, integrity, authentication, non-repudiation, confidentiality, - and access control
Transport (tsv)Transport for large volumes of traffic at potentially high - bandwidths
-
- - +| Area | Description | +| -------- | --------------- | +| Applications and Real-Time Area (art) | Protocols seen by user programs, such as email and the web and delay-sensitive interpersonal communications | +| General (gen) | IETF process, and catch-all for WGs that don't fit in other Areas (which is very few) | +| Internet (int) | Different ways of moving IP packets and DNS information | +| Operations and Management (ops) | Network management, AAA, and various operational issues facing the Internet | +| Routing (rtg) | Getting packets to their destinations | +| Security (sec) | Privacy, integrity, authentication, non-repudiation, confidentiality, and access control | +| Transport (tsv) | Transport for large volumes of traffic at potentially high bandwidths | Because the IESG reviews all Internet-Drafts before they become RFCs, ADs have quite a bit of influence. The ADs for a particular Area are expected to @@ -516,8 +473,6 @@ review I-Ds with a focus on potential issues for their area. The quality of the IETF standards comes both from the review they get in the Working Groups and the scrutiny that the WG review gets from the ADs. - - #### 2.2.3 Internet Architecture Board (IAB) The [IAB](https://www.iab.org) is responsible for keeping an eye on the "big picture" of the @@ -549,12 +504,9 @@ The IAB also: Like the IESG, the IAB members are selected for two-year positions by the NomCom and are approved by the ISOC Board of Trustees. - - #### 2.2.4 Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) -The core registrar for the IETF's activities is the [IANA](https://www.iana.org). Many Internet protocols require that -someone keep track of protocol items that were added after the protocol came +The core registrar for the IETF's activities is the [IANA](https://www.iana.org). Many Internet protocols require that someone keep track of protocol items that were added after the protocol came out. Typical examples of the kinds of registries needed are for TCP port numbers and MIME types. IANA's work on behalf of the IETF is overseen by the IAB. There is a [joint group](https://www.iab.org/activities/programs/ietf-iana-group/) that advises IANA. IANA is funded by [ICANN](https://www.icann.org). @@ -565,8 +517,6 @@ Having a stable, long-term repository run by careful and conservative operators makes it much easier for people to experiment without worrying about messing things up. - - #### 2.2.5 RFC Editor and RFC Production Center (RPC) The RPC edits, formats, and publishes RFC's. This used to be done by one @@ -575,8 +525,6 @@ fond of their history. Also, if you are a document author, you will most commonly come in contact with people responsible for editing your draft. Another important role is to provide [one definitive repository](https://www.rfc-editor.org) for all RFCs. - - A common misconception is that all RFCs are the work of the IETF. In fact, there are four sources of RFCs: the IETF, the IAB, the IRTF, and Independent streams. It is likely that there will soon be a fifth source, which will be for @@ -598,22 +546,18 @@ potential author, the details shouldn't matter much to you right now. The RPC is contracted by the IETF LLC. - - #### 2.2.6 IETF Secretariat There are a few people who are paid to support the IETF. The IETF Secretariat provides day-to-day logistical support, which mainly means coordinating face-to-face meetings and running the IETF presence on -the web, including the IETF web site, +the web, including the](https://www.ietf.org)IETF web site, mailing lists, the repository for Internet-Drafts, and so on. The Secretariat also provides administrative assistance to the IESG and others. The Secretariat is contracted by the IETF LLC. - - #### 2.2.7 IETF Trust The [IETF Trust](https://trustee.ietf.org) was set up to hold and @@ -623,8 +567,6 @@ entity. Most participants never interact with the IETF Trust, beyond seeing it mentioned in RFC boilerplate. This is a good sign, and indicates that they are quietly doing their job. - - ### 2.3 IETF Mailing Lists The IETF does most of its communication, and all of its official work, @@ -670,8 +612,6 @@ large, it is important to note that attending an IETF meeting does not mean you'll be automatically added to any list; you'll have to "opt in" directly. - - ## 3 IETF Meetings The computer industry is rife with conferences, seminars, expositions, and @@ -720,8 +660,6 @@ Note that COVID-19 disrupted the in-person meetings. After several virtual or online meetings, the IETF tried its first hybrid meeting, in Vienna, in March 2022. - - ### 3.1 Registration To attend an IETF meeting, either online or in person, you have to register @@ -781,8 +719,6 @@ arrange to meet people. If someone says "meet me at registration," you should clarify if they mean the IETF registration desk, or the hotel registration desk: This has been a common cause of missed connections. - - ### 3.2 Take the Plunge and Stay All Week! IETF WG meetings are scheduled from Monday morning through Friday afternoon. @@ -810,8 +746,6 @@ for practical purposes such as consulting drafts. Power strips in all meeting rooms and hotel rooms will provide only the sockets permitted by local regulations, so ensure in advance that you have an appropriate travel adapter. - - ### 3.3 Newcomer Training Newcomers should attend the Newcomer's Tutorial on Sunday, which is @@ -826,8 +760,6 @@ participants. It is a great chance to meet people, and establish contacts that can be useful during the rest of the week. Registration is required as space is limited. It is held right before the welcome reception. - - ### 3.4 Dress Code At meetings people generally dress informally, and newcomers could feel out @@ -835,8 +767,6 @@ of place if they show up Monday morning in suits. The general rule is "dress for casual comfort." Note that the hotel air conditioning might mean bringing a sweater or other covering as well. - - ### 3.5 Working Group Meetings The heart of an IETF meeting is the WG meetings themselves. Different WGs @@ -875,8 +805,6 @@ first speak, say your name and affiliation for identification purposes. If you miss this, folks will often say "name!" to remind you. Don't be embarrassed if this happens, it's not uncommon. - - ### 3.6 Seeing Spots Before Your Eyes Some attendees will have a little colored dot on their name tag, and a few @@ -884,20 +812,17 @@ people have more than one. These dots identify people who have volunteered to do extra work, such as being a WG chair, an IESG member, and so on. The colors have the meanings shown here. -
- - - - - - - - - - - -
ColorMeaning
BlueWorking Group/BOF Chair
GreenMeeting Host/Sponsor
RedIAB member
YellowIESG member
PinkIRSG member
OrangeNominating Committee member
BlackIETF LLC Board
-
+ + +| Color | Meaning | +| -------- | --------------- | +| Blue | Working Group/BOF Chair | +| Green | Meeting Host/Sponsor | +| Red | IAB member | +| Yellow | IESG member | +| Pink | IRSG member | +| Orange | Nominating Committee member | +| Black | IETF LLC Board | Members of the press wear orange-tinted badges with the word "press" on them. @@ -916,8 +841,6 @@ Near the registration area there are usually ribbons and markers so that people can label their specific interests, history, and so on. Many people use them to make (inside) jokes, which are sometimes amusing. - - ### 3.7 Terminal Room The IETF wifi is provided by volunteers who run the Network Operations Center @@ -932,8 +855,6 @@ provide are terminals; the name is historical. The help desk in the terminal room is also a good place to ask questions about network failures, although they might point you off to different networking staff. - - ### 3.8 Meals and Snacks Although it is true that some people eat very well at the IETF, they find the @@ -951,8 +872,6 @@ If you prefer to get out of the hotel for meals, the local host usually provides a list of places to eat within easy reach of the meeting site, and the meeting-specific email list is also a useful source. - - ### 3.9 Social Event Another of the most important things organized and managed by the host is the @@ -967,8 +886,6 @@ social ticket costs extra, is reserved at registration time, and has limited capacity. People looking to buy or sell a social ticket often post to the email list, or on the corkboards mentioned above. - - ### 3.10 Agenda The agenda for the IETF meetings is a very fluid thing. It is available on @@ -988,8 +905,6 @@ changes. Some Working Groups meet multiple times during a meeting, and every attempt is made to have a Working Group meet in the same room for each session. - - ### 3.11 EMODIR to the Rescue If, after you finish reading this document, certain aspects of the IETF still @@ -1014,8 +929,6 @@ any questions you might have. Details on EMODIR membership and charter are available [online](https://datatracker.ietf.org/group/emodir/about/). - - ### 3.12 Where Do I Fit In? The IETF is different things to different people. There are many people who @@ -1029,8 +942,6 @@ The following guidelines (based on stereotypes of people in various industries) might help you decide whether you actually want to come and, if so, what might be the best use of your time at your first meeting. - - #### 3.12.1 IT Managers As discussed throughout this document, an IETF meeting is nothing like any @@ -1047,8 +958,6 @@ people read the current Internet-Drafts and email traffic on the relevant Working Group lists, they will get a sense of whether or not their presence would be worthwhile for your company or for the Working Groups. - - #### 3.12.2 Network Operators and ISPs Knowledge of how networks are run is indispensible for the development @@ -1067,8 +976,6 @@ organizations is quite valuable to keep this work vibrant and relevant. Many of the best operations documents from the IETF come from real-world operators, not vendors and academics. - - #### 3.12.3 Networking Hardware and Software Vendors The image of the IETF being mostly network researchers may have been true in @@ -1095,8 +1002,6 @@ Internet for some or all of its business, the strategy should probably cover the IETF, but note that IETF participation is as an *individual* not a formal representative of their employer. - - #### 3.12.4 Academics IETF meetings are often excellent places for all kinds of researchers to find @@ -1116,14 +1021,10 @@ IETF attendees can attend for free. The IRTF also hosts the [Applied Networking which includes a cash prize, a travel grant to attend, and a chance to present. See the web page for requirements. - - #### 3.12.5 Computer Trade Press If you're a member of the press and are considering attending IETF, -please see the special section below. - - +please see the](#8-2)special section below. ### 3.13 Proceedings @@ -1135,8 +1036,6 @@ information about IETF that you're not likely to find anywhere else. For example, you'll copies of every session's slides, links to the video recording, copies of the blue sheets (attendance), and so on. - - ### 3.14 Other General Things IETFers in general are very approachable. Never be afraid to approach someone @@ -1156,7 +1055,7 @@ unofficial get-together between WG meetings or in the late evening, during which a lot of work gets done. These side meetings spring up in many different places around an IETF meeting, such as restaurants, coffee shops, unused hall spaces and the like. You can read more about -Birds-of-a Feather sessions (BOFs) in section 5. +Birds-of-a Feather sessions (BOFs)](#5)in section 5. The IETF meetings, and the plenary session in particular, are not places for vendors to try to sell their wares. People can certainly answer questions @@ -1170,8 +1069,6 @@ of online IETF-related information). Please check with the Secretariat before placing materials on the desk; the Secretariat has the right to remove material that they feel is not appropriate. - - ### 3.15 Remote Participation People have joined IETF meetings remotely for a long time, but the tools for @@ -1189,8 +1086,6 @@ memory while writing a trip report, or for catching up on what happened when you wanted to be in two WG meetings at once. It happens; scheduling conflicts are unavoidable. - - ## 4 Working Groups The vast majority of the IETF's work is done in its many Working Groups; at @@ -1217,8 +1112,6 @@ charter. The list of all WG charters makes interesting reading for folks who wan to know what the different Working Groups are supposed to be doing. Each WG has its own page on the datatracker. - - ### 4.1 Working Group Chairs Each Working Group has one or two (or, rarely, three) chairs. The role of the @@ -1239,8 +1132,6 @@ you can imagine given the mix of secretarial, interpersonal, and technical demands, some Working Group chairs are much better at their jobs than others. - - ### 4.2 Getting Things Done in a Working Group One fact that confuses many newcomers is that the face-to-face WG meetings are much @@ -1272,8 +1163,8 @@ debates feel that the delays often result in better protocols. (And, if you think about it, how could you have "voting" in a group that invites all interested individuals to participate, and when it's impossible to count the participants?) A common definition and practice of humming can be found in -RFC 7282: On Consensus and -Humming in the IETF. + - ### 4.3 Working Group Documents There is an official distinction between WG I-Ds and individual I-Ds. A WG @@ -1323,8 +1212,6 @@ is described in [RFC 4858: Document Shepherding from Working Group Last Call to who knows the history of the draft within the WG, often does the shepherd write-up. - - ### 4.4 Preparing for Working Group Meetings The most important thing that **everyone** should do before coming to a @@ -1377,8 +1264,6 @@ the name of the Working Group followed by "@jabber.ietf.org". Those rooms are, in fact, available year-round, not just during IETF meetings, and some are used by active Working Group participants during protocol development. - - ### 4.5 Working Group Mailing Lists As we mentioned earlier, the IETF announcement and discussion mailing lists are @@ -1401,8 +1286,6 @@ discussion. Every WG has a dedicated page on the datatracker site, and the "About" tab will point to mailing list subscription and archives. - - ### 4.6 Interim Working Group Meetings Working Groups sometimes hold interim meetings between IETFs. Interim meetings @@ -1421,8 +1304,6 @@ meetings, as well as reporting the results of the meetings. The purpose of these rules is to make interim meetings accessible to as many Working Group members as possible and to maintain the transparency of the Working Group process. - - ## 5 BOFs and Dispatching In order to form a Working Group, you need a charter and someone who is able @@ -1461,13 +1342,11 @@ tend to limit what the other folks in the BOF want to do in the charter. Remember that most BOFs are held in order to get support for an eventual Working Group, not to get support for a particular document. - - ## 6 RFCs and Internet-Drafts This section discusses Internet-Drafts and RFCs in the IETF stream, that is, it describes how documents are produced and advanced within the IETF. For a -brief note on other RFC streams, see above. +brief note on other RFC streams, see above. If you're a new IETF participant and are looking for a particular RFC or Internet-Draft, you can use the IETF *Datatracker*. This website, [https://datatracker.ietf.org/](https://datatracker.ietf.org/), @@ -1479,27 +1358,25 @@ hostname. Most RFCs in the IETF stream follow the same process, and the sections below discuss the process and some of the issues. Note that there are - -other ways to get an RFC published, particularly if it is not intended +I-D Authors website +yourself, the](https://authors.ietf.org)I-D Authors website has a lot of information and resources, including pointers to online tools that can help. - - ### 6.1 The Overall Process The very first step is to have a draft document. Internet-Drafts should follow a specific format, and are required to have particular -sections. This will be discussed more below. +sections. This will be discussed more](#6-3)below. RFCs are generally written by a Working Group. If an appropriate -WG doesn't seem to exist, then the BOF or Dispatch +WG doesn't seem to exist, then the](#5)BOF or Dispatch process mentioned above can be used to learn which one is appropriate, or start the process to create one. @@ -1522,7 +1399,7 @@ Once a WG adopt a document, the WG as a whole has the right of "change control." This means the WG, can make any changes to the document, the one you initially wrote, that they want. If you are not comfortable with this, then the IETF is not the place for your document. There are a few more -details on this below. +details on this below. The WG now "works on" the document. This will be a combination of mailing list discussion, perhaps agenda time at a meeting, and publishing @@ -1538,8 +1415,7 @@ people are often deadline-driven. After WGLC, the responsible AD (the one who oversees the WG) does a review. They will probably have comments that must be resolved by you and the WG; it's quite likely you'll have to publish a new draft. Then the IESG and -the overall IETF reviews the draft, as -mentioned above. +the overall IETF reviews the draft, as mentioned above. The purpose of IETF Last Call is to get community-wide discussion on documents before the IESG considers them. Note the word *discussion* here. It is generally considered bad form to send IETF Last Call comments on documents @@ -1562,15 +1438,11 @@ This set of documents goes into great detail on a topic that is very often misunderstood, even by seasoned IETF participants: different types of RFCs go through different processes and have different rankings. - - ### 6.2 Common Issues There are two major issues that often come up while preparing I-Ds: copyright and patents. - - We discussed copyright above, but expand on it here. When the IETF adopts a Internet-Draft, it is required that the *boilerplate*, the common text that appears in every draft, has a notice that says the IETF, *and the document @@ -1616,8 +1488,6 @@ can change at any time. Therefore, an IPR list in an RFC could be incomplete and mislead the reader. [BCP 79](https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/bcp79) provides specific text that should be added to RFCs where the author knows of IPR issues. - - ### 6.3 Writing an Internet-Draft Every RFC starts its life as an I-D. Internet-Drafts have the same format as an RFC, @@ -1628,18 +1498,18 @@ the draft, or pointers to online locations for raising issues and suggesting changes. For the past several years, the official canonical source of RFCs as RFC 7991: The "xml2rfc" -Version 3 Vocabulary. Some people enjoy writing in XML, and some don't. +href="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7991)RFC 7991: The "xml2rfc" +Version 3 Vocabulary. Some people enjoy writing in XML, and some don't. An alternative for the second group is to use a specific dialect of markdown, which is then converted to XML as needed (and especially during the publication process). A recent trend is the increasing use of markdown, and hosting I-Ds on GitHub to attract a wider audience of Internet-savvy users. Some information on this can be found at -RFC 8874: -Working Group GitHub Usage Guidance. +https://authors.ietf.org, +Guidelines -to Authors of Internet-Drafts. +read is](https://www.ietf.org/how/ids/guidelines)Guidelines +to Authors of Internet-Drafts. That document explains the naming conventions, formatting requirements, required content, and details of how to submit (also called *post*) your draft. - - #### 6.3.1 Internet-Draft Language It is common for Internet-Drafts that revise existing RFCs to have draft @@ -1683,8 +1551,6 @@ the particular uses of what is called "2119 language." For example, "The document says MAY but doesn't explain why not; should it be a MUST?" - - #### 6.3.2 About References One aspect of writing IETF standards that trips up many newcomers is the rule @@ -1714,8 +1580,6 @@ problem for IETF standards that need to be used in the future. When in doubt, ask the WG chair or AD if a particular external standard can be used in an IETF standard. - - #### 6.3.3 About Required Content Every draft is required to have some content. Some of this is boilerplate @@ -1726,7 +1590,7 @@ draft, and you (and the WG) will have to write them. Many IETF standards have extension points, such as unassigned fields in a message header, or for something like email or HTTP, an actual message -header. As mentioned above, IANA maintains online +header. As](#2-2-4)mentioned above, IANA maintains online registries for these. Because of the large and diverse kinds of registries that standards require, IANA needs to have specific information about how to register parameters, what not to register, who (if anyone) approves any @@ -1758,14 +1622,12 @@ Internet. It also provides advice for when a draft should have an explicit privacy section. Some drafts benefit from having an "Implementation Status" section, -as explained by +as explained by](https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7942) BCP 205: Improving Awareness of Running Code: The Implementation Status -Section. +Section. More detail on the required content can be found -[online](https://authors.ietf.org/en/required-content). - - +[online](https://authors.ietf.org/en/required-content). ### 6.4 Standards-Track RFCs @@ -1782,8 +1644,6 @@ may be because no one took the time to try to get them to Internet Standard, or some of the normative references in the standard are still at Proposed standard, or it may be that everyone found more important things to do. - - ### 6.5 RFCs Other than Standards-Track As mentioned earlier, not all RFCs are standards. In fact, many important @@ -1820,12 +1680,8 @@ of a protocol is published. Likewise, some STDs are actually sets of more than one RFC, and the "standard" designation applies to the whole set of documents. - - ## 7 How to Contribute to the IETF - - ### 7.1 What You Can Do **Read:** Review the Internet-Drafts in your area of expertise and comment on @@ -1855,8 +1711,6 @@ of technical (and, sadly, sometimes personal) criticism. Take the technical comments with equanimity and use it to improve your draft in order to produce the best and most interoperable standard, and ignore the personal ones. - - ### 7.2 What Your Company Can Do **Share:** Avoid proprietary standards. If you are an implementor, exhibit a @@ -1884,16 +1738,12 @@ benefited from the Internet to contribute, since this has the greatest financial benefit for the group. It will, of course, also benefit the Internet as a whole. - - ## 8 IETF and the Outside World While some IETF participants would like to think otherwise, the IETF does not exist in a standards vacuum. This section discusses two important groups. - - ### 8.1 IETF and Other SDOs There are many other standards organizations whose decisions affect the @@ -1921,8 +1771,6 @@ Full details about the processes for dealing with other SDOs can be found in [BCP 102](https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/bcp102) and [BCP 103](https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/bcp103). - - ### 8.2 Press Coverage of the IETF Given that the IETF is one of the best-known bodies that is helping move the