<?xml version='1.0'encoding='utf-8'?> <?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="rfc2629.xslt" ?>encoding='UTF-8'?> <?rfctoc="yes"?>toc="true"?> <!DOCTYPE rfc SYSTEM"rfc2629-xhtml.ent" [ <!ENTITY RFC0001 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.0001.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC0003 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.0003.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC0114 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.0114.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC0433 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.0433.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC0690 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.0690.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC0748 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.0748.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC0902 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.0902.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC1000 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.1000.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC1083 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.1083.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC1122 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.1122.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC1123 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.1123.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC1150 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.1150.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC1311 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.1311.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC1818 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.1818.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC2441 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.2441.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC2468 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.2468.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC2555 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.2555.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC4714 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.4714.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC4844 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.4844.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC4845 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.4845.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC4846 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.4846.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC5540 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.5540.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC5620 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.5620.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC5742 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.5742.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC5743 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.5743.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC6360 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.6360.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC6410 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.6410.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC6548 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.6548.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC6635 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.6635.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC6949 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.6949.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC7990 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.7990.xml"> <!ENTITY RFC8153 SYSTEM "http://xml.resource.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.8153.xml"> ]>"rfc2629-xhtml.ent"> <rfc xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude" ipr="trust200902" number="8700" docName="draft-iab-fiftyyears-01" category="info" updates="2555, 5540" obsoletes=""submissionType="IETF"consensus="true" sortRefs="true" tocInclude="true" symRefs="true" submissionType="IAB" xml:lang="en" version="3"><!-- xml2rfc v2v3 conversion 2.22.2 --><front> <title abbrev="Fifty Years of RFCs">Fifty Years of RFCs</title> <seriesInfoname="Internet-Draft" value="draft-iab-fiftyyears-01"/>name="RFC" value="8700"/> <author initials="H." surname="Flanagan" fullname="Heather Flanagan" role="editor"> <organization>RFC Editor</organization> <address> <email>rse@rfc-editor.org</email> <uri>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2647-2220</uri> </address> </author> <date year="2019"month="August" day="9"/>month="December"/> <keyword>History, RFC Series, Retrospective</keyword> <abstract> <t>This RFC marks the fiftieth anniversary for the RFC Series. It includes both retrospective material from individuals involved at key inflectionpoints,points as well as a review of the current state of affairs. It concludes with thoughts on possibilities for the next fifty years for the Series. This document updates the perspectives offered in RFCs 2555 and 5540. </t> </abstract> </front> <middle> <section anchor="introduction" numbered="true" toc="default"><!-- v2v3: Moved attribute title to <name/> --><name>Introduction</name> <t>The RFC Series began in April 1969 with the publication of "Host Software" by Steve Crocker. The early RFCs were, in fact, requests for comments on ideas and proposals; the goal was to startconversations,conversations rather than to create an archival record of a standard or best practice. This goal changed over time, as the formality of the publication processevolved,evolved and the community consuming the material grew. Today, over 8500 RFCs have been published, ranging across best practiceinformation,guidance, experimental protocols, informational material, and, of course, Internet standards. Material is accepted for publication through the IETF, the IAB, the IRTF, and the Independent Submissionsstream,streams, eachwithof which have clear processes on how drafts are submitted and potentially approved for publication as an RFC. Ultimately, the goal of the RFC Series is to provide a canonical source for the material published by the RFCEditor,Editor and to support the preservation of that material in perpetuity. </t> <t>The RFC Editor as a role came a few years after the first RFC was published. The actual datewhenthe term "RFC Editor" was first used is unknown, but it was formalized by <xref target="RFC0902" format="default"/> in July 1984; Jon Postel, the first RFC Editor, defined the role by his actions and later by defining the initial processes surrounding the publication of RFCs. What is certain is that the goal of the RFC Editor isresponsible for making sureto produce documents thatthe editorial quality of the RFCs published is high,are readable, clear, consistent, and reasonably uniform, and that the archival record of what has been published is maintained. </t> <t>Change does come to the Series, albeit slowly. First, we saw the distribution method change from postal mail to FTP and then to email. RFCs could not be distributed electronicallyfromin the beginning, as the means to do that distribution would not be defined until years after the first RFC waspublished."published". Not all early RFCs were even created electronically; some were written out byhand,hand or on a typewriter.EventuallyEventually, the process for creating RFCs became more structured; authors were provided guidance on how to write an RFC. The editorialstaffeffort went fromone person,Steve Crocker to a more official model with a designated editor, Jon Postel, and later to a team of five toseven.seven individuals. The actual editing and publishing work split from the service for registration of protocol code points. The whole RFC Editor structure was reviewed <xref target="RFC4844"format="default"/> andformat="default"/>, refined <xref target="RFC5620"format="default"/>format="default"/>, and refined again <xref target="RFC6635" format="default"/>. And, in the last few years,we have startedthe process to change the format of the RFC documentsthemselves.</t>themselves has started <xref target="RFC7990"/>.</t> <t>This isevolution,evolution; and the Series will continue toadaptbe adapted in order to meet the needs and expectations of thecommunity of authors,implementers, operators, historians, anduserscommunity of authors that uses the RFC Series. These changes willbealways be balanced against the core mission of the Series: to maintain a strong, stable, archival record of technical specifications, protocols, and other information relevant to theARPANETAdvanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) and Internet networking communities.</t> <t>There is more to the history of the RFC Series than can be covered in this document. Readers interested in earlier perspectives may find the following RFCs of particularinterest thatinterest. These RFCs focus on the enormous contributions of Jon Postel, Czar of Socket Numbers <xref target="RFC0433" format="default"/> and first RFC Editor:<!-- v2v3: Replaced <list style="empty"/> with <ul/> --> </t> <!-- v2v3: <ul/> promoted to be child of <section/>, and the enclosing <t/> split. --></t> <ulempty="true"empty="false" spacing="normal"><!-- v2v3: Replaced <t/> with <li/> --> <li> <xref<li><xref target="RFC2441" format="default"/>"Working with Jon, Tribute delivered atUCLA"</li> <!-- v2v3: Replaced <t/> with <li/> --> <li> <xrefUCLA, October 30, 1998"</li> <li><xref target="RFC2555" format="default"/>"30 Years of RFCs"</li><!-- v2v3: Replaced <t/> with <li/> --> <li> <xref<li><xref target="RFC5540" format="default"/>"40 Years of RFCs"</li> </ul> <t> In this document, the history of theseriesSeries is viewed through the eyes of several individuals who have been a part of shapingthe Series.it. Narratives of this nature offer a limited perspective on events; there are almost certainly other viewpoints, memories, andperspectiveperspectives on events that are equally valid and would reflect a different history. So, while these retrospectives are enormously valuable and provide an insight to events of the day, they are just one lens on the history of the RFC Series. </t> <t>Steve Crocker, author ofRFC 1,<xref target="RFC0001"/>, offers his thoughts on how and why the Series began. Leslie Daigle, a major influence in the development of the RFC Editor model, offers her thoughts on the change of the RFC Editor to a stronger, contracted function. Nevil Brownlee, Independent Submissions Editor from 2010 through February 2018, shares his view on the clarification of theISIndependent Stream (IS) and its transitionfromupon the retirement of BobBraden.Braden from the position. As the current RFC Series Editor, I will put my thoughts in on the most recent changes in formalizing the digital preservation of the Series, the process to modernize the format while respecting the need for stability, and my thoughts on the next fifty years of RFCs. </t> <t>This document updates the perspectives offered inRFCs 2555<xref target="RFC2555"/> and5540.</t><xref target="RFC5540" />.</t> </section> <section anchor="keymoments" numbered="true" toc="default"><!-- v2v3: Moved attribute title to <name/> --><name>Key Moments in RFC History</name> <table anchor="keymoments-table" align="center"><!-- v2v3: Moved attribute title to <name/> --><name>Key Moments in RFC History</name> <thead> <tr> <th align="left">Marker</th> <th align="left">Date</th> <th align="left">Event</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td align="left"> <xref target="RFC0001"format="default"/></td>format="default"/> </td> <tdalign="left">1969</td>align="left">April 1969</td> <td align="left">First RFC published</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <xref target="RFC0114"format="default"/></td>format="default"/> </td> <tdalign="left">1971</td>align="left">April 1971</td> <td align="left">First distribution of RFCs over the network</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <xref target="RFC0433"format="default"/></td>format="default"/> </td> <td align="left">December 1972</td> <td align="left">First mention of the Czar of Socket Numbers and the proposal for a formal registry</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <xref target="RFC0690"format="default"/></td>format="default"/> </td> <td align="left">June 1975</td> <td align="left">Relationship starts betweenISIthe Information Sciences Institute (ISI) and the RFCEditor, judgingEditor (judging by Jon Postel's affiliationchange</td>change)</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <xref target="RFC0748"format="default"/></td>format="default"/> </td> <tdalign="left">Marchalign="left">April 1977</td> <td align="left">First April 1stRFC</td>RFC published</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <xref target="IETF1"format="default"/></td>format="default"/> </td> <td align="left">January 1986</td> <td align="left">First Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) meeting</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <xreftarget="RFC1083" format="default"/></td>target="IAB-19880712" format="default"/> </td> <tdalign="left">October 1989</td>align="left">July 1988</td> <tdalign="left">Three stage standards process first defined</td>align="left">IAB approved the creation of an Internet-Draft series</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <xref target="RFC1122" format="default"/> <xref target="RFC1123"format="default"/></td>format="default"/> </td> <td align="left">December 1988</td> <td align="left">First major effort to review key specifications and write applicability statements</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <xref target="RFC1083" format="default"/> </td> <td align="left">October 1989</td> <td align="left">Three-stage standards process first defined</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <xref target="RFC1150"format="default"/></td>format="default"/> </td> <td align="left">March 1990</td> <td align="left">FYI sub-series started</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <xref target="RFC1311"format="default"/></td>format="default"/> </td> <td align="left">March 1992</td> <td align="left">STD sub-series started</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <xref target="RFC1818"format="default"/></td>format="default"/> </td> <td align="left">August 1995</td> <td align="left">BCP sub-series started</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <xref target="RFC-ONLINE"format="default"/></td>format="default"/> </td> <tdalign="left">(approx) 1998-2010</td>align="left">approx. 1998</td> <td align="left">RFC Online Project to restorelostearlyRFCs</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <xref target="IAB-19880712" format="default"/></td> <td align="left">July 1988</td> <td align="left">IAB approved the creation of an Internet Draft series</td>RFCs that were "lost" started</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <xref target="RFC2441"format="default"/></td>format="default"/> </td> <td align="left">15 October 1998</td> <td align="left">Jon Postel's death</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <xreftarget="ISI-to-AMS" format="default"/></td>target="RFC4844" format="default"/> </td> <td align="left">July 2007 </td> <td align="left">RFC Series administrative structure documented</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <xref target="RFC4846" format="default"/> </td> <td align="left">July 2007</td> <td align="left">Independent Submission document stream is formalized</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <xref target="RFC5620" format="default"/> </td> <td align="left">August 2009</td> <td align="left">RFC Editor organization officially established as RFC Series Editor, Independent Submission Editor, RFC Production Center, and RFC Publisher</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <xref target="ISI-to-AMS" format="default"/> </td> <td align="left">October 2009</td> <td align="left">Transition of RFC Production Center and RFC Publisher starts fromISIInformation Sciences Institute (ISI) to Association Management Solutions (AMS)</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <xreftarget="RFC4844" format="default"/></td> <td align="left">July 2007target="RFC5540" format="default"/> </td> <tdalign="left">RFC Stream structure</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <xref target="RFC4846" format="default"/></td> <td align="left">July 2007</td>align="left">January 2010</td> <tdalign="left">Formalize the Independent Submission document stream</td>align="left">Bob Braden retires from RFC Editor</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <xref target="RFC5743"format="default"/></td>format="default"/> </td> <td align="left">December 2009</td> <tdalign="left">Formalize the Internetalign="left">Internet Research Task Force documentstream</td>stream formalized</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <xref target="RFC-ONLINE" format="default"/> </td> <td align="left">approx. 2010</td> <td align="left">RFC Online Project to restore early RFCs that were "lost" finished</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <xref target="RFC6360"format="default"/></td>format="default"/> </td> <td align="left">August 2011</td> <td align="left">FYI sub-series ended</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <xref target="RFC6410"format="default"/></td>format="default"/> </td> <td align="left">October 2011</td> <tdalign="left">Two stagealign="left">Two-stage standards process formalized</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <xref target="RFC6635" format="default"/> </td> <td align="left">June 2012</td> <td align="left">Updated responsibilities of RFC Series allocated to RFC Series Editor, RFC Production Center, and RFC Publisher</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <xref target="RFC6949"format="default"/></td>format="default"/> </td> <td align="left">May 2013</td> <td align="left">RFCFormatformat change project started</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <xref target="RFC8153"format="default"/></td>format="default"/> </td> <td align="left">April 2017</td> <td align="left">RFCs no longer printed to paper upon publication</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </section> <section anchor="perspectives" numbered="true" toc="default"><!-- v2v3: Moved attribute title to <name/> --><name>Perspectives</name> <section anchor="the-origins-of-rfcs-by-stephen-d-crocker" numbered="true" toc="default"><!-- v2v3: Moved attribute title to <name/> --><name>The Origins of RFCs - by StephenD. Crocker</name> <t>[ThisD. Crocker</name> <t>(This is a revision of material includedin <xref target="RFC1000" format="default"/> August 1987,more thanthirty30 yearsago.]</t>ago in <xref target="RFC1000" format="default"/>.)</t> <t>The Internet community now includes millions of nodes and billions of users. It owes its beginning to the ARPANET, which was once but a gleam in the eyes ofJ. C. R. Licklider,J. C. R. Licklider, Bob Taylor, and Larry Roberts ofARPA.the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). While much of the development proceeded according to plan, the initial design of the protocols and the creation of the RFCs was largely accidental.</t> <t>The procurement of the ARPANET was initiated in the summer of1968 --remember1968; remember Vietnam, flower children, etc.? There had been prior experiments at various ARPA sites to link together computer systems, but this was the first version to explorepacket-switchingpacket switching as a core part of the communication strategy. ("ARPA" didn't become "DARPA" (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) until 1972. It briefly changed back to ARPA in 1993 and then back again to DARPA.) The government's Request for Quotations (RFQ) called for four packet-switching devices, called Interface Message Processors ("IMPs"), to be delivered to four sites in the western part of the United States: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); SRI International (Stanford Research Institute) in Menlo Park, CA; University of California, SantaBarbara;Barbara (UCSB); and the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Thesesites, respectively,sites were running a Scientific Data Systems (SDS) Sigma 7, an SDS 940, an IBM 360/75, and a DECPDP-10.PDP-10, respectively. These machines not only had different operating systems, but even details like character sets and byte sizesvaried, and othervaried. Other sites would have further variations. </t> <t>The focus was on the basic movement of data. The precise use of the ARPANET was not spelled out in advance, thus requiring the research community to take some initiative. To stimulate this process, a meeting was called in August 1968 with representatives from the selected sites, chaired by Elmer Shapiro from SRI. Based on Shapiro's notes from that meeting, the attendees were Dave Hopper and Jeff Rulifson fromSRI,SRI; Glen Culler and Gordon Buck from SantaBarbara,Barbara; R. Stephenson, C. StephenCarrCarr, and W. Boam fromUtah,Utah; Vint Cerf and me fromUCLA,UCLA; and a few others from potential future sites.</t> <t>That first meeting was seminal. We had lots of questions. How would IMPs and "hosts" (I think that was the first time I was exposed to that term)wouldbe connected? What would hosts say to each other? What applications would be supported? The only concrete answers were remote login as a replacement for dial-up,telephone basedtelephone-based interactive terminal access, and file transfer, but we knew the vision had to be larger. We found ourselves imagining all kinds ofpossibilities --possibilities: interactive graphics, cooperating processes, automaticdata basedatabase query, electronicmail --mail, etc., but no one knew where to begin. We weren't sure whether there was really room to think hard about these problems; surely someone senior and in charge, likely from the East, would be along by and by to bring the word. But we did come to one conclusion: we ought to meet again. Over the next several months, we met at each of our sites, thereby setting the precedent for regularface to faceface-to-face meetings. We also instantly felt the irony. This new network was supposed to make it possible to work together at a distance, and the first thing we did was schedule a significant amount of travel.</t> <t>Over the next several months, a small, fairly consistent set of graduate students and staff members from the first four sites met. We used the term Network Working Group (NWG) to designate ourselves. This was the same term Elmer Shapiro had used when he convened our first meeting, although it had been used until that point to refer to the principal investigators and ARPApersonnel --personnel: senior people who had been planning the network. Our group was junior anddisjointdisjointed from the prior group, except, of course, that each of us worked for one of the principal investigators.</t> <t>The first few meetings were quite tenuous, primarily because we weren't sure how narrow or expansive our goals should be. We had no official charter or leadership, and it remained unclear, at least to me, whether someone or some group would show up with the official authority and responsibility to take over the problems we were dealing with. Without clear definition of what the host-IMP interface would look like, or even a precise definition of what functions the IMP would provide, we focused on broader ideas. We envisioned the possibility ofapplication specificapplication-specific protocols, with code downloaded to user sites, and we took a crack at designing a language to support this. The first version was known as DEL, for "Decode-Encode Language" and a later version was called NIL, for "Network InterchangeLanguage."</t>Language".</t> <t>In late19681968, Bolt Beranek and Newman (BBN) in Cambridge, MA won the contract for the IMPs and began work in January 1969. A few of us flew to Boston in the middle of February to meet the BBN crew. The BBN folks, led by Frank Heart, included Bob Kahn, Severo Ornstein, Ben Barker, Will Crowther, BernieCosellCosell, and Dave Walden. They were organized,professionalprofessional, and focused. Their first concern was how to meet their contract schedule of delivering the first IMP to UCLA at the beginning of September and how to get bits to flow quickly and reliably. The details of the host-IMP interface were not yet firm; the specification came a few months later as BBN Report 1822. In particular, BBN didn't take over our protocol design process, nor did any other source of authority appear. Thus, we doggedly continued debating and designing the protocols.</t> <t>A monthlaterlater, our small NWG met in Utah. As the meeting came toward an end, it became clear to us that we should start writing down our discussions. We had accumulated a few notes on the design of DEL and other matters, and we decided to put them together in a set of notes. We assigned writing chores to each of us, and I took on the additional task of organizing the notes. Though I initiated the RFCs, my role was far less than an editor. Each of the RFCs were numbered in sequence. The only rule I imposed was the note had to be complete before I assigned a number because I wanted to minimize the number of holes in the sequence.</t> <t>I tried a couple of times to write a note on how the notes would be organized, but I found myself full of trepidation. Would these notes look as if we were asserting authority we didn't have? Would we unintentionally offend whomever the official protocol designers were? Finally, unable to sleep, I wrotethea few humble words. The basic ground rules were that anyone could say anything and that nothing was official. And to emphasize the point, I used Bill Duvall's suggestion and labeled the notes "Request forComments."Comments". I never dreamed these notes would eventually be distributed through the very medium we were discussing in thesenotes. Talknotes: talk about Sorcerer'sApprentice!</t>Apprentice! (See <xref target="APPRENTICE"/>.)</t> <t>After BBN distributed the specification for the IMP hardware and software interface to theIMPs to theinitial ARPANET sites, our attention shifted to low-level matters. The ambitious ideas for automatic downloading of code evaporated. It would be several years before ideas like mobile code, remote procedure calls, ActiveX,JAVAJAVA, andRESTfulRepresentational State Transfer (RESTful) interfaces appeared.</t> <t>Over the spring and summer of thatyearyear, we grappled with the detailed problems of protocol design. Although we had a vision of the vast potential for intercomputer communication, designing usable protocols was another matter. We knew a custom hardware interface and a custom software addition in the operating system was going to be required for anything we designed, and we anticipated these would pose some difficulty at each of the sites. We looked for existing abstractions to use. It would have been convenient if we could have made the network simply look like a regular device, e.g., a tape drive, but we knew that wouldn't do. The essence of this network was peer-to-peer cooperation among the machines and the processes running inside them, not a central machine controlling dependent devices. We settled on a virtual bit stream layer as the basic building block for theprotocols,protocols; but even backthenthen, we knew that some applications like voice might need to avoid that layer of software. (Why a virtual bit stream instead of a virtual byte stream? Because each computer had its own notion of how many bits were in a byte.Eight-bit8-bit bytes didn't become standard until a few years later.)</t> <t>Over the next two years, we developed, exchanged, and implemented ideas. I took a leave from UCLA in June 1971 to spend time working at ARPA. Jon Postel took over the care and feeding of the RFCs, evolving the process and adding collaborators over the next twenty-seven years.</t> <t>The rapid growth of the network and the working group also led to a large pile of RFCs. When the 100th RFC was in sight, Peggy Karp atMITREthe MIT Research Establishment (MITRE) took on the task of indexing them. That seemed like a large task then, and we could have hardly anticipated seeing more thana1000 RFCs several yearslater,later and the evolution towardInternet DraftsInternet-Drafts yet later.</t> <t>When we first started working on the protocols, the network did not exist. Except for our occasional face-to-face meetings, RFCs were our only means of communication. In <xref target="RFC0003" format="default"/>, I set the bar as low as possible:</t><!-- v2v3: <ul/> promoted to be child of <section/>, and the enclosing <t/> split. --> <ul empty="true" spacing="normal"> <!-- v2v3: Replaced <t/> with <li/> --> <li>The<aside> <t> The content of a NWG note may be any thought, suggestion, etc. related to the HOST software or other aspect of the network. Notes are encouraged to be timely rather than polished. Philosophical positions without examples or other specifics, specific suggestions or implementation techniques without introductory or background explication, and explicit questions without any attempted answers are all acceptable. The minimum length for a NWG note is onesentence.</li> <!-- v2v3: Replaced <t/> with <li/> --> <li>Thesesentence. </t> <t> These standards (or lack of them) are stated explicitly for two reasons. First, there is a tendency to view a written statement as ipso facto authoritative, and we hope to promote the exchange and discussion of considerably less than authoritative ideas. Second, there is a natural hesitancy to publish something unpolished, and we hope to ease thisinhibition.</li> </ul>inhibition. </t> </aside> <t>Making the RFCs informal was not only a way of encouraging participation; it was also important in making the communication effective. One of the early participants said he was having trouble writing and sending an RFC because his institution wanted to subject them to publication review. These are not"publications,""publications", I declared, and the problem went away. Another small detail, handled instinctively and without debate, was the distribution model. Each institution was required to send a copy directly to each of the other handful of participating institutions. Each institution handled internal copies and distribution itself. Submission to a central point for redistribution was notrequired,required so as to minimize delays. SRI's Network Information Center, however, did maintain a central repository of everything and provided an invaluable record.</t> <t>We didn't intentionally set out to challenge the existing standards organizations, but our natural mode of operation yielded some striking results. The RFCs are open in two important respects: anyone can write one for free and anyone can get them for free. At the time, virtually everyone in the ARPANET community was sponsored by the government, so there was little competition and no need to use documents as a way of raising money. Of course, as soon as we had email working on the ARPANET, we distributed RFCs electronically. When the ARPANET became just a portion of the Internet, this distribution process became worldwide. The effect of this openness is oftenoverlooked. Studentsoverlooked; even now, students and young professionals all over the world have been able to downloadtheRFCs, learn about themany pieces of technology,technology within, andthenin turn, build the most amazing software.And they still are. [They(They are also a fantastic resource forhistorians.]</t>historians.)</t> <t>Where will it end? The ARPANET begat theInternetInternet, and the underlying technology transitioned from the original host-host protocol toTCP/IP, butTCP/IP. But, the superstructure of protocol layers,community drivencommunity-driven protocol design, andtheRFCs continued. Through themanychanges inphysical layer technology - analog copper circuits, digital circuits, fiber and wireless --physical-layer technology, resulting in speed increases from thousands to billions of bits persecondsecond, anda similar increasesimilarly from thousands to billions of users, this superstructure, including theRFCsRFCs, has continued to serve the community. All of the computers have changed, as have all of the transmissionlines. Butlines, but the RFCs march on. Maybe I'll write a few words for RFC 10,000.</t> <t>Quiteobviouslyobviously, the circumstances have changed. Email and other media are most often used for the immediate exchange of inchoate thoughts.Internet DraftsInternet-Drafts are the means for exchanging substantial, albeit sometimesspeculative content. Andspeculative, content, while RFCs are reserved for fully polished, reviewed,editededited, and approved specifications. Comments to RFCs are not requested, although usage-related discussions and other commentary on mailing lists oftentakestake place nonetheless. Rather than bemoan the change, I take it as a remarkable example of adaptation. RFCs continue to serve the protocol development community. Indeed, they are the bedrock of a very vibrant and productive process that has fueled and guided the Internet revolution.</t> </section> <section anchor="rfcmgmtteam" numbered="true" toc="default"><!-- v2v3: Moved attribute title to <name/> --><name>The RFC Management and Editing Team - by Vint Cerf</name> <t>As Steve Crocker mentions inSection 3.1,<xref target="the-origins-of-rfcs-by-stephen-d-crocker"/>, Jon Postel assumed the role of RFC manager in 1971 when Steve left UCLA for ARPA. Jon took on this role in addition to his subsequent "numbers Czar" responsibilities. Initially, his focus was largely on assigning RFC numbers to aspiringwriterswriters, but with time, and as the standardization of the ARPANET and Internet protocols continued apace, he began to serve in an editorial capacity. Moreover, as an accomplished software engineer, he had opinions about technical content in addition to writing style and did not hesitate to exercise editorial discretion as would-be published authors presented their offerings for his scrutiny. As the load increased, he recruited additional "volunteer" talent, most notably JoyceK. Reynolds,K. Reynolds, a fellow researcher at USC/ISI. Over the ensuing years, he also drafted Robert (Bob) Bradenintoonto theteamteam, and when Jon unexpectedly passed away in October 1998 (see <xref target="RFC2468" format="default"/>), Joyce and Bob undertookto carrycarrying on with the RFC work in his stead, adding Sandy Ginoza to the team. During the period when Jon and Joyce worked closely together, Joyce would challenge me to tell which edits had been made by Jon and which by her. I found this impossible, so aligned were they in their editorial sensibilities. Sadly, three of these tireless Internauts have passedonon, and we have only the product of their joint work and Sandy Ginoza's and others' corporate memory by which to recall history. </t> </section> <section anchor="formalizing-the-rfc-editor-model-leslie-daigle" numbered="true" toc="default"><!-- v2v3: Moved attribute title to <name/> --><name>Formalizing the RFC Editor Model - by Leslie Daigle</name> <t>I was the chair of the Internet Architecture Board, the board responsible for the general oversight of the RFC Series, at a particular inflection point in the evolution of all Internet technology institutions. To understand what we did, and why we had to, let me first paint a broader picture of the arc of these institutions.</t> <t>Like many others who were in decision-making roles in the mid-00's,'00s, I wasn't present when the Internet was born. The lore passed down to me was that, out of the group of talented researchers that developed the core specifications and established the direction of the Internet, different individuals stepped up to take on roles necessary to keep the process of specification development organized and open. As the work of specification expanded, those individuals were generally supported by organizations that carried on in the same spirit. This was mostly Jon Postel, managing the allocation and assignment of names and numbers, as well as working as the editor of RFCs, but there were also individuals and institutions supporting the IETF's Secretariat function. By the late 20th century, even this model was wearingthin -thin; the support functions were growing, and organizations didn't have the ability to donate even more resources to run them. In some cases(IANA)(IANA), there was significant industry and international dependence on the function and its neutrality.</t> <t>The IETF, too, had grown in size, stature, and commercial reliance. This system of institutional pieces "flying in formation" was not providing the kind of contractual regularity or integrated development that the IETF needed. People who hadn't been there as the institutions developed, including IETFdecision-makers,decision makers, didn't innately understand why things "had to be the way theywere",were" and were frustrated when trying to get individual systems updated for newrequirements, andrequirements as well as better integrated across the spectrum of activities.</t> <t>Internet engineering had expanded beyond the point of being supportable by aloosely-coupledloosely coupled set of organizations of people who had been there since the beginning and knew each other well. New forms of governance wereneeded, as well asneeded along with a rationalized funding model. The IANA function was absorbed into a purpose-built international not-for-profit organization. The IETF stepped up to manage its own organizational destiny, creating the IETF Administrative Support Activity (IASA), and the Secretariat became one of its contracted functions.</t> <t>This left the RFC Editor function as anInternet Society-supported,independenteffort.</t>effort supported by the Internet Society.</t> <t>That independent nature was necessary for the historic role of the RFC Series in considering all technical contributions. But, at that inflection point in the Series' history, it needed a new governance and funding model, just as the other organizations supporting Internet technical specificationsupporting organizationshad. Also, the IETF leadership had some concerns it felt needed to be addressed in its own technical publication stream. While the RFC Series had been established before there was an IETF, and had historically continued to have documents in it that didn't originate from the IETF, the IETF was its largest and most organized contributor. There was no particular organization of independent contributors. Equally, the funding for the RFC Editor was at that point coming from the Internet Society in the guise of "support for the IETF". For people who hadn't been involved with the institution from the outset, it was pretty easy to perceive the RFC Series uniquely as the IETF's publication series. So, the challenge was to identify and address the IETF's issues, along with governance and funding, without sacrificing the fundamental nature of the RFC Series as a broader-than-IETF publication series.</t> <t>To give a sense of thekindskind of tensions that were prevalent, let me share that the one phrase thatsticksstuck in my mind from those discussionsis:was "push to publish". There were those in IETF leadership who felt that it would significantly reduce costs and improve timeliness if an RFC could be published by, literally, pushing a button on a web interface the moment it was approved by the IESG. It would also, they argued, remove the specification issues being introduced bycopy-editorscopy editors that were hired as occasional workers to help with improving publicationrates,rates but who weren't necessarily up to speed on terms of art in technical specifications. (There were some pretty egregious examples ofcopyeditorscopy editors introducing changes that significantly changed the technical meaning of the text that I forbear from citing here; let's just say it wasn't strictly a problem of Internet engineers getting uptight about their cheese being moved.) While "push to publish" would have addressed those issues, it would not have addressed the loss of clarity from the many significant text improvements copy editors successfully introduced, or the fact that not all RFCs are approved by the IESG.</t> <t>Institutionally, it was clear that the target was to have the RFC Editor function governance within the reach of the Internet technical community (as opposed to any particular privateorganization),organization) without tying it specifically to the IETF. That was reasonably achievable by ensuring that the resultant pieces were established under the oversight of the IAB (which is, itself, independent of theIETF,IETF even as it is supported by the IASA organization).</t> <t>The IETF worked on a document outlining functional requirements for its technical specification publication. This could have been useful for establishing its own series, but it also was helpful in establishing awareness of the challenges in document publishing (it always looks easy when you haven't thought aboutit),it) and alsoto layin laying theground workgroundwork for dialogue with the RFC Editor. The requirements document was published as <xref target="RFC4714"format="default"/>,format="default"/> as an Informational RFC that stands today to provide guidance in the editing processes surrounding IETF publications.</t> <t>There was still, however, a certain lack of clarity about responsibilities for making decisions and changes in the RFC Series itself. To that end, I and the IAB worked with the various involved parties to produce <xref target="RFC4844" format="default"/>. That document captured the RFC Series mission (for a purpose greater than IETF technical specificationpublication),publication) as well as the roles and responsibilities of the parties involved. The RFC Editorhas responsibilityis responsible for ensuring the implementation of the mission. The IAB continues to have oversight responsibilities, including policy oversight, which it could act on by changing the person (organization) in the role of RFC Editor. At the same time, operational oversight was migrated to the IASA support function of the IETF (and IAB).</t> <t>The discussions, and the resulting publication ofRFC 4844,<xref target="RFC4844"/>, allowed greater visibility into and commitment to the RFCSeries,Series as a general Internet publication. It also meant that subsequent adjustments could bemade,made as requirementsevolved -evolved; the responsible parties are clearly identified. </t> </section> <section anchor="the-continuation-or-creation-of-a-stream-nevil-brownlee" numbered="true" toc="default"><!-- v2v3: Moved attribute title to <name/> --><name>The Continuation, or Creation, of a Stream - by Nevil Brownlee</name> <t>Arguably starting in 2006 with <xref target="RFC4714" format="default"/>, the IAB and the IETF community spent some time in themid-2000'smid-'00s evolving the structure of the RFC Series. This work included defining how those groups that published into the RFC Series (initially including the IETF, the IAB <xref target="RFC4845" format="default"/>, and the Independent SubmissionsstreamStream <xref target="RFC4846" format="default"/>, and later growing to include the IRTF <xref target="RFC5743" format="default"/>) would handle approving documents to be published as RFCs. In 2009, the IAB published'RFC"RFC Editor Model (Version1)'1)" <xref target="RFC5620" format="default"/>. In this model, a new role was created within the RFCEditor,Editor: the RFC Series Editor(RSE), an(RSE). This individualthatwould oversee RFC publishing anddevelopment,development while leaving the process for approving documents for publication outside his or her mandate.While arguablyWhile, arguably, this was a role long filled by people like Jon Postel, Bob Braden, and Joyce Reynolds,RFC 5620<xref target="RFC5620"/> saw the role of RFC Series Editor defined in such a way as to distinctly separate it from that of the Independent Submissions Editor (ISE). </t> <t>Before20092009, the RFC Editor could accept'Independent'"Independent" submissions fromindividuals, and -individuals and, ifhe judgedthey weresignificant -judged significant, publish them as RFCs; the Independent Stream was set up to continue that function. From February 2010 through February 2018, I was theIndependent Stream Editor (ISE) and I began byISE. After reading <xref target="RFC4846" format="default"/>,thenI went on to develop the Independent Stream (IS).</t><t>First<t>First, I spent several days at the RFC ProductionCentreCenter atISIthe Information Sciences Institute (ISI) in Marina Del Ray with the RFC Editor (BobBraden) andBraden), SandyGinozaGinoza, and AliceHagens,Hagens so as to learn how RFCs were actually edited and published. All RFCs reach the ProductionCentreCenter asInternet Drafts;Internet-Drafts; they arecopy-edited,copy edited until the edited version can be approved bytheirits authors (AUTH48). At anystagestage, authors can check their draft's statusinvia the RFC EditorDatabase.</t>website.</t> <t>For the Independent Submissions, Bob kept a journal (a simple ASCII file) of his interactions with authors for every draft, indexed by the draft name. Bob also entered the Independent drafts into the RFC Editordatabase,database so that authors could track their draft's status. After my few days with his team at ISI, he handed that journal (covering about 30 drafts) over to me andsaid "nowsaid, "Now it's over to you!"</t> <t>I began by following in Bob's footsteps, maintaining a journal and tracking each draft's status in the RFC Editor database. My first consideration was that every seriousInternet draftInternet-Draft submittedneedsneeded several careful reviews.IfAt that time, if the ISEknowsknew of suitable reviewers, hecanor she could simply ask them. Otherwise, if the draftrelatesrelated to an IETF or IRTF Working Group,he canthe ISE could ask Working GroupchairsChairs or Area Directors to suggest reviewers.As well, the ISE has anThe Independent Submissions Editorial Board (Ed Board)that he can ask for reviewers.was another place the ISE could request reviewers from. My experience with reviewers was that most of those I approached were happy to help.</t> <t>Most drafts were straightforward, but there were some that needed extra attention.OftenOften, a draftrequestsrequested IANA code points, and forthatthat, IANAwerewas always quick to offer help and support. Code points in some IANARegistriesregistries require Expert Review-<xref target="RFC8126"/>; sometimes the interactions with ExpertreviewersReviewers took quite a long time! Again, sometimes a draft seemed to fit better in the IETF Stream; forthesethese, I would suggest that the draft authors try to find an Area Director to sponsor their work asin Individualan individual submission to the IETF Stream.</t> <t>After my first few years as ISE, the IETF Tools Team developed theData Tracker so that it could keepDatatracker <xref target="DATATRACKER"/> to show draftstatus,status and perform all the'housekeeping'"housekeeping" tasks for all of the streams. At thatstagestage, I switched touseusing theData TrackerDatatracker rather than the RFC Editor database.</t> <t>Once a draft has beenreviewed,reviewed and the authors have revised it in dialogue with their reviewers, the ISE must submit that draft to the IESG fortheir "Conflictan "IESG Review" <xref target="RFC5742" format="default"/>. Overall, each IS draft benefited from discussions (which were usually simple) with my Ed Board and the IESG. A (very) fewdraftswere somewhatcontroversial -controversial; forthosethose, I was able to work with the IESG to negotiate a suitable'IESG Statement'"IESG Statement" and/or an'ISE Statement'"ISE Statement" to make itclearerclear why the ISE published the draft.</t> <t>One rather special part of the Independent Stream is the AprilFirst drafts.1st RFCs. These are humorous RFCs thatare never formally posted as drafts and whichhave no formal review and approval process. The authors must send them directly to the ISE or the RFC Editor. Only a few of them can be published eachyear; they areyear, and each is reviewed by the ISE and theRSE;RSE. Bob Braden's criteria for AprilFirst1st drafts were:<!-- v2v3: Replaced <list style="empty"/> with <ul/> --> </t> <!-- v2v3: <ul/> promoted to be child of <section/>, and the enclosing <t/> split. --></t> <ulempty="true"empty="false" spacing="normal"><!-- v2v3: Replaced <t/> with <li/> --><li> They must relate to the Internet (like alldrafts)</li> <!-- v2v3: Replaced <t/> with <li/> -->drafts).</li> <li> Their readers should reach the end of page two before realizingthisit is an AprilFirst RFC</li> <!-- v2v3: Replaced <t/> with <li/> -->1st RFC.</li> <li> They must actually be funny!</li> </ul> <t> AprilFirst1st RFCs have a large following, and feedback from the Internet community on1April 1st of each year has been enthusiastic and quick! </t><t>I<t>159 RFCs were published159in the Independent StreamRFCsduring my eight years as ISE. Over those eightyearsyears, I workedwith,with most of their authors and often met with them at IETFmeetings, most of their authors.meetings. Formeme, that was a very rewarding experience, so I thank all thosecontributors. Also, I'vethat contributed. During those eight years, I also worked with most of the IESGmembers during those eight years, thatmembers, who all also gave me a lot of helpful interaction.Last,Lastly, I've always enjoyed working with theRFC Editor,RSE and all the staff of the RFC ProductionCentre.Center. The IETF (as a whole) is very fortunate to have such an effective team of talentedProfessional Staff.</t>professional staff.</t> </section> <section anchor="a-view-from-inside-the-rfc-editor-sandy-ginoza" numbered="true" toc="default"><!-- v2v3: Moved attribute title to <name/> --><name>A View fromInsideinside the RFC Editor - by Sandy Ginoza</name> <t>When I joined ISI, shortly after Jon Postel passed away, the RFC Editor model as we know it today (as defined inRFC 5620,<xref target="RFC5620"/> and as obsoleted by <xref target="RFC6548" format="default"/> andRFC 6635)<xref target="RFC6635"/>) did not exist. The RFC Editor functioned as oneunit;unit: there was no RSE, Production Center, Publisher, or Independent Submissions Editor. All of these roles were performed by theRFC Editor,"RFC Editor", which was comprised of four individuals: Bob Braden, Joyce Reynolds, a part-time student programmer, and me. </t> <t>Bob provided high-level guidance and reviewed Independent Submissions. While Bob was a researcher in "Div 7" (Networking) at ISI, ostensibly, the percentage of time he had for the RFC Editor was 10%, but he invested much more time to keep theseriesSeries running. He pitched in where he could, especially when processing times were getting longer; at one point, he even NROFFed a couple of RFCs-to-be. </t> <t> Joyce was a full-timeemployee, butISI employee. However, while continuing to ensure RFCs werepublished and servepublished, she was also serving as a User Services Area Director and a keynote speaker about the Internet, and she was also temporarily on loan to IANA for 50% of her time while IANA was getting established after separating from ISI. The student programmer performed programming tasks as requested and was, at the time, responsible for parsing MIBs. </t> <t> I was a full-time staffer and had to quickly learn the ropes so RFCs would continue to be published.</t> <t>MyMy primary tasks were to manage the publication queue, format and prepare documents for Joyce's review, carry out AUTH48 once Joyce completed her review, and publish, index, and archive the RFCs (both soft and hard copies). </t> <t>The workload increased significantly over the next few years. As the workload increased, the RFC Editor reacted and slowly grew their staff over time. To understand the team growth, let's first take a look at the publication rates throughout history. The table below shows average annual publication rates during 5-year periods. </t> <table anchor="AvgPubs" align="center"><!-- v2v3: Moved attribute title to <name/> --><name>Annual Publication Rates</name> <thead> <tr> <th align="center">Years</th> <thalign="center">Avgalign="center">Avg. Pubs per Year</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td align="center">1969 - 1972</td> <td align="center">80</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center">1973 - 1977</td> <td align="center">55</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center">1978 - 1982</td> <td align="center">20</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center">1983 - 1987</td> <td align="center">39</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center">1988 - 1992</td> <td align="center">69</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center">1993 - 1997</td> <td align="center">171</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center">1998 - 2002</td> <td align="center">237</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center">2003 - 2007</td> <td align="center">325</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center">2008 - 2012</td> <td align="center">333</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center">2013 - 2017</td> <td align="center">295</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <t>There were significant jumps in the publication rates in the90s'90s and onward, with the number of publications almost doubling between 1993 and 2007. The annual submission count surpassed the 300 mark for the first time in 2004 and reached an all-time high of 385 in 2011. The submission rate did not drop below 300 until 2016 (284). </t> <t>As the submissions grew, the RFC Editor experienced growing pains. Processing times began to increase as the existing staff was unable to keep up with the expanding queue size. In an attempt to reduce the training hump and to avoid permanently hiring staff in case the submission burst was a fluke, ISI brought on temporary copyeditors -editors; this way, the staff could easily be resized as needed. However, as Leslie noted, this didn't work very well. The effects of the experiment would be lasting, as this led to a form of the process we have now, where the RFC Editor asks more questions during AUTH/AUTH48 and technical changes require approval from the relevant Area Directors or stream managers, depending on the document stream. These changes added to the workload and extended publication times; many often now jokingly refer to AUTH48 as the authors' "48 days", "48 weeks", etc. </t><t>Because the workload continued<t>In addition to the increase(in more ways than justin documentsubmissions; tool testing,submissions, we engaged in tools testing and went through several editorial processchanges, and more) andchanges. Because of thelessonslesson learned with temporary copy editors, our team grew to be morepermanently.permanent. While wehadadded other editors in between, two additions are of particular interest, as they experienced much of the RFC Editor's growing pains, helped work us out of a backlogged state, shaped the RFC Editor function, and are still with the team today: Alice Russo joined the team in 2005 and Megan Ferguson joined us in 2007. </t> <t>With the understanding that therecord breakingrecord-breaking number of submissions was not an anomaly, we made significant upgrades to the infrastructure of the RFC Editor function to facilitate document tracking and reporting. For example, the illustrious "black binder"- an(an actual 3-ring binder used to track RFC numberassignment,assignment), a manually edited HTML file for the queue page, and aRube-GoldbergRube Goldberg set of text files and scripts that created queue statistics, all were eventually replaced; an errata system was proposed and implemented; and XML became a newly accepted source file. </t> <t>In 2009,RFC 5620<xref target="RFC5620"/> was published, introducing the initial version of the RFC Editor model we have now. While it was published in 2009, it did not go into effect until 2010, when the RFC Editor project as I knew it was disbanded and divvied up into four pieces: RFC Series Editor (RSE), Independent Submissions Editor (ISE), RFC Production Center (RPC), andPublisher.the Publisher function. In addition, the RFC Series Advisory Group (RSAG) was created to "provide expert, informed guidance (chiefly, to the RSE) in matters affecting the RFC Series operation anddevelopment."development" <xref target="RSAG"/>. </t> <t>In 2010, the RPC and Publisher contracts were awarded to Association ManagementSystems (AMS);Solutions (AMS). There, we started with three existing team members (Alice Russo, Megan Ferguson, andme)me), and we were pleased to be joined by LynneBartholomew, aBartholomew and Rebecca VanRheenen, newcolleaguecolleagues to anchor us in the AMSoffice, and later Rebecca VanRheenen shortly thereafter.office. </t> <t>I was wary of this model and was especially worried about the hole Bob Braden's departure would create. Luckily for us, Bob Braden provided wise counsel and insight during the transition (and beyond). He gave the staff transitioning to AMS particularly helpful partingwords -words, "keep the RFCscoming" -coming", and that is what we did. </t> <t>AMS embraced the RFC Series and helped us quickly get set up on new servers. The RFC Production Center and Publisher were now part of the AMS family and it was all hands on deck to make sure the transition went smoothly to minimize the impact on document processing. </t> <t>Our focus during transition was to 1) keep the trains running; that is, we wanted to get ourselves up and running with minimal downtimetime, and 2) work with the TransitionalRSE,RSE (a role that concluded before theIndependent Submissions Editortransition ended), the ISE (Nevil Brownlee), RSAG, and the IETF Administrative Director (IAD) to better understand and implement the newly defined RFC Editor model. </t> <t>Though some portions of the transition were challenging and lasted longer than expected, the Acting RSE (Olaf Kolkman) officially handed the reins over to the new RSE (Heather Flanagan) in 2012. She had to jump in, learn the RFC Editor and IETF culture, and work through a backlog of issues that had been left unattended. </t> <t>Two of the backlogged issues were soold,old that they were ones someone had asked me about at my firstIETF: when isIETF meeting: When was the RFC Editor going to allow non-ASCII characters inRFCs, and when willRFCs? When would the RFC Editor adopt a more modern publicationformat.format? </t> <t>At that time, while we understood the desire to move toward supporting a broader range of character sets andto have more modernhaving more-modern outputs, we also routinely received emails from individuals requesting that we send themplain-textplaintext files (instead of pointing them to the website) because their Internet access was limited. We also regularly received complaints fromrfc-editor.orgusers of <eref target="https://www.rfc-editor.org" brackets="angle"/> whenever something on the site didn't work correctly with their older browsers. In short, we could not advance without leaving a large number of users behind. </t> <t>However, we now find ourselves on the precipice of change.2019 promisesThe next few years promise to bea BIG yearexciting for the RFCSeries,Series as weexpect totransition from publishing plaintext, ASCII-only files to publishing multiple file formats (XML, HTML, PDF/A-3, and TXT) that allow both non-ASCII characters and SVG art. </t> <t>Interestingly enough, I find that the RFC Editor has been in an almost constant state of change since I joined the team, even though the goal of the RFC Editor remains the same: to produce archival quality RFCs in a timely manner that are easily accessible for future generations. </t> </section> </section> <section anchor="the-next-fifty-years-of-rfcs" numbered="true" toc="default"><!-- v2v3: Moved attribute title to <name/> --><name>The Next Fifty Years of RFCs</name> <t>As Steve Crocker mentioned, the Series began witha goalgoals of communication overformality,formality and openness over structure. As the Internet has grown and become a pervasive, global construct, we still aim for openness and communication, but recognize that for protocols and other information to support interoperability, there must be points of stability to build from.Small-timeEveryone, from small-time app developers to multi-billion dollarcompanies arecompanies, is on the same footing. Anyone should be able to look back at a point in time and understand what wasdone,done and why. </t> <t>While the informality has given way to increased structure, the openness and solid foundation that the Series provides must continue. With that in mind, whatis nextdoes the future hold for the next fifty years of RFCs? </t> <section anchor="preservation" numbered="true" toc="default"><!-- v2v3: Moved attribute title to <name/> --><name>Preservation</name> <t>The RFC Editor exists to edit, publish, and maintain an archive of documents published in the RFC Series. A proper digital archive, however, is more than just saving RFCs to disk and making sure the disks are backed up; the field of digital preservation has grown and transformed into an industry in and of itself. "Digital Preservation Considerations for the RFC Series" <xref target="RFC8153" format="default"/> reviews what a digital archive means today and describes ways to support the archive into thefuture, andfuture. It also recommends ways for the RFC Editor to take advantage of those organizations that specialize in this field.</t> <t>The future of digitalpreservationpreservation, as far as the RFC Series isconcernedconcerned, will mean both finding new partners that can absorb and archive RFCs into a public, maintained digitalarchive,archive and reviewing the RFC format to ensure that the published documents are archivable according to whatever the industry best practice is over time. </t> </section> <section anchor="futureformat" numbered="true" toc="default"><!-- v2v3: Moved attribute title to <name/> --><name>Evolution of the RFC Format</name> <t>RFCs have been digital documents since very early in the days of the Series. While not always published in US-ASCII, that format has been the canonical format for decades. The fact that this format has lasted through so much evolution and change is remarkable. </t> <t>Unfortunately, theoldUS-ASCII format does not extend enough to meet the expectations and requirements of many users today. The entire field of online document presentation, consumption, andpreservation, haspreservation has, in somecasescases, only been invented years after the first RFC was published. While it can be (andhas) beenhas been) argued that those newer fields and their tools have not had a chance to stand the test of time, the RFC Series Editor (in consultation with the community) started a concerted effort in 2012 to bring the RFC Series into alignment with a new array of possibilities for preservation and display. </t> <t>Informationabouton thecurrentRFC formatproject,project and the initial reasoning and requirements for the changes underwaytoday,can be found in <xref target="RFC7990" format="default"/>. With the advent of these changes, the door has been opened to consider further changes in the future as the specifications for archiving digital material evolves, and as the expectation of web development advances. </t> </section> <section anchor="streamstructure" numbered="true" toc="default"><!-- v2v3: Moved attribute title to <name/> --><name>Stream Structure</name> <t>In the eyes of many, particularly within the IETF, the RFC Series is synonymous with the IETF. While the Series itself predates the IETF by eighteen years, overtimetime, the IETF has become the source of the majority of documents submitted for publication to the RFC Editor. The policies developed for IETFstreamStream drafts tend to apply across all four document streams, and publication-related tools tend to focus on the IETF as the primary audience for their use. It is difficult for people to see how, or even why, there is a distinction between the Series and the IETF.</t> <t>We are in the midst of that question now more than ever. What is the future of the Series? If people cannot tell where the IETF ends and the Series starts, should we consider this an artificial distinction and declare them to be the same entity? </t> <t>Ultimately, this will be something the community decides, and conversations are underway to consider the ramifications of possible changes. </t> </section> </section> <section anchor="conclusion" numbered="true" toc="default"><!-- v2v3: Moved attribute title to <name/> --><name>Conclusion</name> <t>As the Internet evolves, expectations and possibilities evolve, too. Over the next fifty years, the Series will continue to demonstrate a balance between the need to stay true to the original mission of publication and preservation, while also staying relevant to the needs of the authors and consumers of RFCs. The tension in balancing those needs rests on the RFC Editor and the community to resolve. We will not run short of challenges. </t> </section> <section anchor="iana-considerations" title="IANA Considerations"> <t>This documentcontainshas noactions for IANA.</t>IANA actions.</t> </section> <section anchor="security-considerations" title="Security Considerations"> <t>This document has no security considerations.</t> </section> </middle> <back> <references><!-- v2v3: Moved attribute title to <name/> --><name>Informative References</name> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.0001.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.0003.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.0114.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.0433.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.0690.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.0748.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.0902.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.1000.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.1083.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.1122.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.1123.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.1150.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.1311.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.1818.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.2441.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.2468.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.2555.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.4714.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.4844.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.4845.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.4846.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.5540.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.5620.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.5742.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.5743.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.6360.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.6410.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.6548.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.6635.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.6949.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.7990.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.8126.xml"/> <xi:include href="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.8153.xml"/> <referenceanchor="RFC0001" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.0001.xml">anchor="APPRENTICE" target="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Sorcerer%27s_Apprentice&oldid=925824658"> <front><title>Host Software</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC0001"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="1"/> <author initials="S." surname="Crocker" fullname="S. Crocker"> <organization/><title>The Sorcerer's Apprentice</title> <author> <organization>Wikipedia</organization> </author> <dateyear="1969" month="April"/>year="2019" month="December"/> </front> </reference> <referenceanchor="RFC0003" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.0003.xml">anchor="DATATRACKER" target="https://datatracker.ietf.org"> <front><title>Documentation conventions</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC0003"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="3"/> <author initials="S.D." surname="Crocker" fullname="S.D. Crocker"> <organization/><title>IETF Datatracker</title> <author> <organization>Internet Engineering Task Force</organization> </author><date year="1969" month="April"/></front> </reference> <referenceanchor="RFC0114" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc114" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.0114.xml">anchor="RSAG" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/about/rsag/"> <front><title>File Transfer Protocol</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC0114"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="114"/> <author initials="A.K." surname="Bhushan" fullname="A.K. Bhushan"> <organization/><title>RFC Series Advisory Group</title> <author> <organization>RFC Editor</organization> </author><date year="1971" month="April"/></front> </reference> <referenceanchor="RFC0433" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc433" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.0433.xml">anchor="IAB-19880712" target="https://www.iab.org/documents/minutes/minutes-1988/iab-minutes-1988-07-12/"> <front><title>Socket number list</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC0433"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="433"/> <author initials="J." surname="Postel" fullname="J. Postel"> <organization/><title>IAB Minutes 1988-07-12</title> <author> <organization>IAB</organization> </author> <dateyear="1972" month="December"/>year="1988" month="July"/> </front> </reference> <referenceanchor="RFC0690" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc690" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.0690.xml"> <front> <title>Comments on the proposed Host/IMP Protocol changes</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC0690"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="690"/> <author initials="J." surname="Postel" fullname="J. Postel"> <organization/> </author> <date year="1975" month="June"/> <abstract> <t>Comments on suggestions in RFC 687; see also RFCs 692 and 696.</t> </abstract> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC0748" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc748" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.0748.xml"> <front> <title>Telnet randomly-lose option</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC0748"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="748"/> <author initials="M.R." surname="Crispin" fullname="M.R. Crispin"> <organization/> </author> <date year="1978" month="April"/> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC0902" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc902" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.0902.xml"> <front> <title>ARPA Internet Protocol policy </title> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC0902"/> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="902"/> <author initials="J.K." surname="Reynolds" fullname="J.K. Reynolds"> <organization/> </author> <author initials="J." surname="Postel" fullname="J. Postel"> <organization/> </author> <date year="1984" month="July"/> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC1000" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1000" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.1000.xml"> <front> <title>Request For Comments reference guide</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC1000"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="1000"/> <author initials="J.K." surname="Reynolds" fullname="J.K. Reynolds"> <organization/> </author> <author initials="J." surname="Postel" fullname="J. Postel"> <organization/> </author> <date year="1987" month="August"/> <abstract> <t>This RFC Reference Guide is intended to provide a historical account by categorizing and summarizing of the Request for Comments numbers 1 through 999 issued between the years 1969-1987. These documents have been crossed referenced to indicate which RFCs are current, obsolete, or revised.</t> </abstract> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC1083" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1083" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.1083.xml"> <front> <title>IAB official protocol standards</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC1083"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="1083"/> <author> <organization>Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency</organization> </author> <author> <organization>Internet Activities Board</organization> </author> <date year="1988" month="December"/> <abstract> <t>This memo describes the state of standardization of protocols used in the Internet as determined by the Internet Activities Board (IAB). An overview of the standards procedures is presented first, followed by discussions of the standardization process and the RFC document series, then the explanation of the terms is presented, the lists of protocols in each stage of standardization follows, and finally pointers to references and contacts for further information. This memo is issued quarterly, please be sure the copy you are reading is dated within the last three months.</t> </abstract> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC1122" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1122" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.1122.xml"> <front> <title>Requirements for Internet Hosts - Communication Layers</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC1122"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="1122"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="STD" value="3"/> <author initials="R." surname="Braden" fullname="R. Braden" role="editor"> <organization/> </author> <date year="1989" month="October"/> <abstract> <t>This RFC is an official specification for the Internet community. It incorporates by reference, amends, corrects, and supplements the primary protocol standards documents relating to hosts. [STANDARDS-TRACK]</t> </abstract> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC1123" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1123" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.1123.xml"> <front> <title>Requirements for Internet Hosts - Application and Support</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC1123"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="1123"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="STD" value="3"/> <author initials="R." surname="Braden" fullname="R. Braden" role="editor"> <organization/> </author> <date year="1989" month="October"/> <abstract> <t>This RFC is an official specification for the Internet community. It incorporates by reference, amends, corrects, and supplements the primary protocol standards documents relating to hosts. [STANDARDS-TRACK]</t> </abstract> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC1150" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1150" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.1150.xml"> <front> <title>FYI on FYI: Introduction to the FYI Notes</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC1150"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="1150"/> <author initials="G.S." surname="Malkin" fullname="G.S. Malkin"> <organization/> </author> <author initials="J.K." surname="Reynolds" fullname="J.K. Reynolds"> <organization/> </author> <date year="1990" month="March"/> <abstract> <t>This memo is the first in a new sub-series of RFCs called FYIs (For Your Information). This memo provides information for the Internet community. It does not specify any standard. [Also FYI 1.]</t> </abstract> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC1311" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1311" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.1311.xml"> <front> <title>Introduction to the STD Notes</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC1311"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="1311"/> <author initials="J." surname="Postel" fullname="J. Postel"> <organization/> </author> <date year="1992" month="March"/> <abstract> <t>The STDs are a subseries of notes within the RFC series that are the Internet standards. The intent is to identify clearly for the Internet community those RFCs which document Internet standards. [STANDARDS-TRACK]</t> </abstract> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC1818" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1818" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.1818.xml"> <front> <title>Best Current Practices</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC1818"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="1818"/> <author initials="J." surname="Postel" fullname="J. Postel"> <organization/> </author> <author initials="T." surname="Li" fullname="T. Li"> <organization/> </author> <author initials="Y." surname="Rekhter" fullname="Y. Rekhter"> <organization/> </author> <date year="1995" month="August"/> <abstract> <t>This document describes a new series of documents which describe best current practices for the Internet community. Documents in this series carry the endorsement of the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG).</t> </abstract> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC2441" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2441" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.2441.xml"> <front> <title>Working with Jon, Tribute delivered at UCLA, October 30, 1998</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC2441"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="2441"/> <author initials="D." surname="Cohen" fullname="D. Cohen"> <organization/> </author> <date year="1998" month="November"/> <abstract> <t>This memo provides information for the Internet community.</t> </abstract> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC2468" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2468" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.2468.xml"> <front> <title>I REMEMBER IANA</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC2468"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="2468"/> <author initials="V." surname="Cerf" fullname="V. Cerf"> <organization/> </author> <date year="1998" month="October"/> <abstract> <t>A long time ago, in a network, far far away, a great adventure took place!. This memo provides information for the Internet community.</t> </abstract> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC2555" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2555" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.2555.xml"> <front> <title>30 Years of RFCs</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC2555"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="2555"/> <author initials="RFC" surname="Editor" fullname="RFC Editor"> <organization/> </author> <author initials="et" surname="al." fullname="et al."> <organization/> </author> <date year="1999" month="April"/> <abstract> <t>The rest of this document contains a brief recollection from the present RFC Editor Joyce K. Reynolds, followed by recollections from three pioneers: Steve Crocker who wrote RFC 1, Vint Cerf whose long-range vision continues to guide us, and Jake Feinler who played a key role in the middle years of the RFC series. This memo provides information for the Internet community.</t> </abstract> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC4714" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4714" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.4714.xml"> <front> <title>Requirements for IETF Technical Publication Service</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC4714"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="4714"/> <author initials="A." surname="Mankin" fullname="A. Mankin"> <organization/> </author> <author initials="S." surname="Hayes" fullname="S. Hayes"> <organization/> </author> <date year="2006" month="October"/> <abstract> <t>The work of the IETF is to discuss, develop, and disseminate technical specifications to support the Internet's operation. Technical publication is the process by which that output is disseminated to the community at large. As such, it is important to understand the requirements on the publication process. This memo provides information for the Internet community.</t> </abstract> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC4844" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4844" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.4844.xml"> <front> <title>The RFC Series and RFC Editor</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC4844"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="4844"/> <author initials="L." surname="Daigle" fullname="L. Daigle" role="editor"> <organization/> </author> <author> <organization>Internet Architecture Board</organization> </author> <date year="2007" month="July"/> <abstract> <t>This document describes the framework for an RFC Series and an RFC Editor function that incorporate the principles of organized community involvement and accountability that has become necessary as the Internet technical community has grown, thereby enabling the RFC Series to continue to fulfill its mandate. This memo provides information for the Internet community.</t> </abstract> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC4845" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4845" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.4845.xml"> <front> <title>Process for Publication of IAB RFCs</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC4845"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="4845"/> <author initials="L." surname="Daigle" fullname="L. Daigle" role="editor"> <organization/> </author> <author> <organization>Internet Architecture Board</organization> </author> <date year="2007" month="July"/> <abstract> <t>From time to time, the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) publishes documents as Requests for Comments (RFCs). This document defines the process by which those documents are produced, reviewed, and published in the RFC Series. This memo provides information for the Internet community.</t> </abstract> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC4846" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4846" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.4846.xml"> <front> <title>Independent Submissions to the RFC Editor</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC4846"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="4846"/> <author initials="J." surname="Klensin" fullname="J. Klensin" role="editor"> <organization/> </author> <author initials="D." surname="Thaler" fullname="D. Thaler" role="editor"> <organization/> </author> <date year="2007" month="July"/> <abstract> <t>There is a long-standing tradition in the Internet community, predating the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) by many years, of use of the RFC Series to publish materials that are not rooted in the IETF standards process and its review and approval mechanisms. These documents, known as "Independent Submissions", serve a number of important functions for the Internet community, both inside and outside of the community of active IETF participants. This document discusses the Independent Submission model and some reasons why it is important. It then describes editorial and processing norms that can be used for Independent Submissions as the community goes forward into new relationships between the IETF community and its primary technical publisher. This memo provides information for the Internet community.</t> </abstract> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC5540" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5540" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.5540.xml"> <front> <title>40 Years of RFCs</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC5540"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="5540"/> <author initials="RFC" surname="Editor" fullname="RFC Editor"> <organization/> </author> <date year="2009" month="April"/> <abstract> <t>This RFC marks the 40th anniversary of the RFC document series. This memo provides information for the Internet community.</t> </abstract> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC5620" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5620" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.5620.xml"> <front> <title>RFC Editor Model (Version 1)</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC5620"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="5620"/> <author initials="O." surname="Kolkman" fullname="O. Kolkman" role="editor"> <organization/> </author> <author> <organization>IAB</organization> </author> <date year="2009" month="August"/> <abstract> <t>The RFC Editor performs a number of functions that may be carried out by various persons or entities. The RFC Editor model presented in this document divides the responsibilities for the RFC Series into four functions: The RFC Series Editor, the Independent Submission Editor, the RFC Production Center, and the RFC Publisher. It also introduces the RFC Series Advisory Group and an (optional) Independent Submission Stream Editorial Board. The model outlined here is intended to increase flexibility and operational support options, provide for the orderly succession of the RFC Editor, and ensure the continuity of the RFC series, while maintaining RFC quality and timely processing, ensuring document accessibility, reducing costs, and increasing cost transparency. This memo provides information for the Internet community.</t> </abstract> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC5742" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5742" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.5742.xml"> <front> <title>IESG Procedures for Handling of Independent and IRTF Stream Submissions</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC5742"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="5742"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="BCP" value="92"/> <author initials="H." surname="Alvestrand" fullname="H. Alvestrand"> <organization/> </author> <author initials="R." surname="Housley" fullname="R. Housley"> <organization/> </author> <date year="2009" month="December"/> <abstract> <t>This document describes the procedures used by the IESG for handling documents submitted for RFC publication from the Independent Submission and IRTF streams. </t> <t>This document updates procedures described in RFC 2026 and RFC 3710. This memo documents an Internet Best Current Practice.</t> </abstract> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC5743" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5743" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.5743.xml"> <front> <title>Definition of an Internet Research Task Force (IRTF) Document Stream</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC5743"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="5743"/> <author initials="A." surname="Falk" fullname="A. Falk"> <organization/> </author> <date year="2009" month="December"/> <abstract> <t>This memo defines the publication stream for RFCs from the Internet Research Task Force. Most documents undergoing this process will come from IRTF Research Groups, and it is expected that they will be published as Informational or Experimental RFCs by the RFC Editor. This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is published for informational purposes.</t> </abstract> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC6360" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6360" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.6360.xml"> <front> <title>Conclusion of FYI RFC Sub-Series</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC6360"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="6360"/> <author initials="R." surname="Housley" fullname="R. Housley"> <organization/> </author> <date year="2011" month="August"/> <abstract> <t>This document concludes the For Your Information (FYI) sub-series of RFCs, established by RFC 1150 for use by the IETF User Services Area, which no longer exists. The IESG does not intend to make any further additions to this RFC sub-series, and this document provides a record of this decision. This document also obsoletes RFC 1150 and changes the status of RFC 1150 to Historic. This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is published for informational purposes.</t> </abstract> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC6410" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6410" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.6410.xml"> <front> <title>Reducing the Standards Track to Two Maturity Levels</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC6410"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="6410"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="BCP" value="9"/> <author initials="R." surname="Housley" fullname="R. Housley"> <organization/> </author> <author initials="D." surname="Crocker" fullname="D. Crocker"> <organization/> </author> <author initials="E." surname="Burger" fullname="E. Burger"> <organization/> </author> <date year="2011" month="October"/> <abstract> <t>This document updates the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Standards Process defined in RFC 2026. Primarily, it reduces the Standards Process from three Standards Track maturity levels to two. This memo documents an Internet Best Current Practice.</t> </abstract> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC6548" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6548" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.6548.xml"> <front> <title>Independent Submission Editor Model</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC6548"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="6548"/> <author initials="N." surname="Brownlee" fullname="N. Brownlee" role="editor"> <organization/> </author> <author> <organization>IAB</organization> </author> <date year="2012" month="June"/> <abstract> <t>This document describes the function and responsibilities of the RFC Independent Submission Editor (ISE). The Independent Submission stream is one of the stream producers that create draft RFCs, with the ISE as its stream approver. The ISE is overall responsible for activities within the Independent Submission stream, working with draft editors and reviewers, and interacts with the RFC Production Center and Publisher, and the RFC Series Editor (RSE). The ISE is appointed by the IAB, and also interacts with the IETF Administrative Oversight Committee (IAOC).</t> </abstract> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC6635" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6635" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.6635.xml"> <front> <title>RFC Editor Model (Version 2)</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC6635"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="6635"/> <author initials="O." surname="Kolkman" fullname="O. Kolkman" role="editor"> <organization/> </author> <author initials="J." surname="Halpern" fullname="J. Halpern" role="editor"> <organization/> </author> <author> <organization>IAB</organization> </author> <date year="2012" month="June"/> <abstract> <t>The RFC Editor model described in this document divides the responsibilities for the RFC Series into three functions: the RFC Series Editor, the RFC Production Center, and the RFC Publisher. Internet Architecture Board (IAB) oversight via the RFC Series Oversight Committee (RSOC) is described, as is the relationship between the IETF Administrative Oversight Committee (IAOC) and the RSOC. This document reflects the experience gained with "RFC Editor Model (Version 1)", documented in RFC 5620, and obsoletes that document. This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is published for informational purposes.</t> </abstract> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC6949" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6949" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.6949.xml"> <front> <title>RFC Series Format Requirements and Future Development</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC6949"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="6949"/> <author initials="H." surname="Flanagan" fullname="H. Flanagan"> <organization/> </author> <author initials="N." surname="Brownlee" fullname="N. Brownlee"> <organization/> </author> <date year="2013" month="May"/> <abstract> <t>This document describes the current requirements and requests for enhancements for the format of the canonical version of RFCs. Terms are defined to help clarify exactly which stages of document production are under discussion for format changes. The requirements described in this document will determine what changes will be made to RFC format. This document updates RFC 2223.</t> </abstract> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC7990" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7990" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.7990.xml"> <front> <title>RFC Format Framework</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC7990"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="7990"/> <author initials="H." surname="Flanagan" fullname="H. Flanagan"> <organization/> </author> <date year="2016" month="December"/> <abstract> <t>In order to improve the readability of RFCs while supporting their archivability, the canonical format of the RFC Series will be transitioning from plain-text ASCII to XML using the xml2rfc version 3 vocabulary; different publication formats will be rendered from that base document. With these changes comes an increase in complexity for authors, consumers, and the publisher of RFCs. This document serves as the framework that provides the problem statement, lays out a road map of the documents that capture the specific requirements, and describes the transition plan.</t> </abstract> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC8153" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8153" xml:base="https://xml2rfc.tools.ietf.org/public/rfc/bibxml/reference.RFC.8153.xml"> <front> <title>Digital Preservation Considerations for the RFC Series</title> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC8153"/> <!-- v2v3: Moved <seriesInfo/> inside <front/> element --> <seriesInfo name="RFC" value="8153"/> <author initials="H." surname="Flanagan" fullname="H. Flanagan"> <organization/> </author> <date year="2017" month="April"/> <abstract> <t>The RFC Editor is both the publisher and the archivist for the RFC Series. This document applies specifically to the archivist role of the RFC Editor. It provides guidance on when and how to preserve RFCs and describes the tools required to view or re-create RFCs as necessary. This document also highlights gaps in the current process and suggests compromises to balance cost with best practice.</t> </abstract> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="IAB-19880712" target="https://www.iab.org/documents/minutes/minutes-1988/iab-minutes-1988-07-12/"> <front> <title>IAB Minutes 1988-07-12</title> <author> <organization>IAB</organization> </author> <date year="1988" month="July"/> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="RFC-ONLINE" target="http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc-online-2000.html">anchor="RFC-ONLINE" target="https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc-online-2000.html"> <front> <title>History of RFC Online Project</title> <author> <organization>RFC Editor</organization> </author> <dateyear="2010" month="February"/>year="2000"/> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="ISI-to-AMS" target="https://iaoc.ietf.org/documents/AMS-RPC-Public-Final-2009.pdf"> <front><title>RFC<title> RFC Production Center Agreement between Association Management Solutions,LLC,LLC andtheThe Internet Society</title> <author><organization>The IETF<organization>IETF Administrative SupportActivity</organization>Activity (IASA)</organization> </author> <date year="2009" month="October"/> </front> </reference> <reference anchor="IETF1" target="https://www.ietf.org/old/2009/proceedings/prior29/IETF01.pdf"> <front><title>First IETF;<title>Proceedings of the 16-17 January16-17, 1986; San Diego, California</title>1986 DARPA Gateway Algorithms and Data Structures Task Force </title> <author><organization/><organization>The MITRE Corporation </organization> </author> <date year="1986" month="January"/> </front> <refcontent>IETF 1 </refcontent> </reference> </references> <section title="IAB Members at the Time of Approval" numbered="false" toc="default"> <ul empty="true"> <li>Jari Arkko</li> <li>Alissa Cooper</li> <li>Stephen Farrell</li> <li>Wes Hardaker</li> <li>Ted Hardie</li> <li>Christian Huitema</li> <li>Zhenbin Li</li> <li>Erik Nordmark</li> <li>Mark Nottingham</li> <li>Melinda Shore</li> <li>Jeff Tantsura</li> <li>Martin Thomson</li> <li>Brian Trammell</li> </ul> </section> <section anchor="Acknowledgements" numbered="false" toc="default"> <name>Acknowledgements</name><t>With many<t>Many thanks to John Klensin for his feedback and insights on the history of the Series, as someone who directly engaged and influenced many of the key individuals involved in developing the RFC Series. </t> <t>Additional thanks to members of the RFC Series Advisory group and the Independent Submissions Editorial Board, inparticularparticular, Scott Bradner, Brian Carpenter, and Adrian Farrel, for their early reviews and input into the sequence of key moments in the history of the Series. </t> </section> <section anchor="contributors" numbered="false" toc="default"><!-- v2v3: Moved attribute title to <name/> --><name>Contributors</name> <t>Many thanks to Steve Crocker, Vint Cerf, Leslie Daigle, Nevil Brownlee, and Sandy Ginoza for their perspectives on theSeries,Series and their ongoing support. </t> </section> </back> </rfc>