Network Working Group B. Carpenter Internet-Draft IBM Expires: August 28, 2006 February 24, 2006 A Personal critique of RFC 2026 draft-carpenter-rfc2026-critique-00 Status of this Memo By submitting this Internet-Draft, each author represents that any applicable patent or other IPR claims of which he or she is aware have been or will be disclosed, and any of which he or she becomes aware will be disclosed, in accordance with Section 6 of BCP 79. Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups. Note that other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet- Drafts. Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference material or to cite them other than as "work in progress." The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt. The list of Internet-Draft Shadow Directories can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html. This Internet-Draft will expire on August 28, 2006. Copyright Notice Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2006). Abstract This document is a personal critique of RFC 2026, the current description of the IETF standards process, based on the author's experience in various IETF roles. Carpenter Expires August 28, 2006 [Page 1] Internet-Draft Personal critique of RFC 2026 February 2006 Table of Contents 1. Disclaimer and Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2. Detailed Critique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 4. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 5. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 6. Change log [RFC Editor: please remove this section] . . . . . 22 7. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Author's Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Intellectual Property and Copyright Statements . . . . . . . . . . 25 Carpenter Expires August 28, 2006 [Page 2] Internet-Draft Personal critique of RFC 2026 February 2006 1. Disclaimer and Introduction BCP 9 [RFC2026] has been the basis for the IETF standards process for many years. This is a personal critique, but written with the perspective of an RFC author, former WG chair and IAB member, and current IESG member. Of course, the focus is on the negative - but it should be remembered that RFC 2026 has served the IETF well for approximately ten years and the majority of it works well and needs no change. Readers are asked to excuse the personal style of this initial draft. Future versions will use more neutral language. Extracts from RFC 2026 are presented verbatim in quotation marks, preceded and followed by the following markers: "+++++++++ ---------" Original pagination and administrative material have been removed, as has text where the author has no particular comments to make. This document attempts to avoid "solutionism", i.e. it is focussed on identifying practical problems. However, in many cases the way a problem is described may well be suggestive of a solution. In one area (the 3 step standards process) assumptions about the solution are hard to avoid. 2. Detailed Critique "+++++++++ " Abstract " " This memo documents the process used by the Internet community for the standardization of protocols and procedures. It defines the stages in the standardization process, the requirements for moving a document between stages and the types of documents used during this process. It also addresses the intellectual property rights and copyright issues associated with the standards process. " ---------" The last sentence will become obsolete (see comment on Section 10). "+++++++++ " 1.1 Internet Standards " " The Internet, a loosely-organized international collaboration of autonomous, interconnected networks, supports host-to-host Carpenter Expires August 28, 2006 [Page 3] Internet-Draft Personal critique of RFC 2026 February 2006 communication through voluntary adherence to open protocols and procedures defined by Internet Standards. There are also many isolated interconnected networks, which are not connected to the global Internet but use the Internet Standards. " ---------" "Host-to-host" is strictly accurate, but today we tend to emphasise the need for "end-to-end" communication. "+++++++++ " The Internet Standards Process described in this document is concerned with all protocols, procedures, and conventions that are used in or by the Internet, whether or not they are part of the TCP/IP protocol suite. In the case of protocols developed and/or standardized by non-Internet organizations, however, the Internet Standards Process normally applies to the application of the protocol or procedure in the Internet context, not to the specification of the protocol itself. " ---------" In view of our experience with the temporary Sub-IP Area, and current experience with L2VPN, L3VPN, PWE3 and of course MPLS, it seems likely that this paragraph needs some rewriting. Emulation of transmission mechanisms over IP, the IETF's involvement in multiprotocol switching through MPLS, and the general layer confusion induced by VPNs means that things are not as easily delimited as the above paragaph suggests. "+++++++++ " 1.2 The Internet Standards Process " " ...o These procedures are explicitly aimed at recognizing and adopting generally-accepted practices. Thus, a candidate specification must be implemented and tested for correct operation and interoperability by multiple independent parties and utilized in increasingly demanding environments, before it can be adopted as an Internet Standard. " ---------" This is an important statement of principle. In fact, if some of the more radical proposals for simplifying the standards track were adopted, it is unclear whether this principle could honestly be left in place. (The antithesis is of course a priori standardization, in which a specification is declared a standard without demonstrated interoperability.) "+++++++++ " o These procedures provide a great deal of flexibility to adapt to Carpenter Expires August 28, 2006 [Page 4] Internet-Draft Personal critique of RFC 2026 February 2006 the wide variety of circumstances that occur in the standardization process. Experience has shown this flexibility to be vital in achieving the goals listed above. " " The goal of technical competence, the requirement for prior implementation and testing, and the need to allow all interested parties to comment all require significant time and effort. On the other hand, today's rapid development of networking technology demands timely development of standards. The Internet Standards Process is intended to balance these conflicting goals. The process is believed to be as short and simple as possible without sacrificing technical excellence, thorough testing before adoption of a standard, or openness and fairness. " ---------" One of the main criticisms of recent years has been that this goal has not been met. But it's unclear that this is is truly a matter of process failure rather than procedural failure. We should look for the solution in the right place. "+++++++++ " 2.1 Requests for Comments (RFCs) " " Each distinct version of an Internet standards-related specification is published as part of the "Request for Comments" (RFC) document series. This archival series is the official publication channel for Internet standards documents and other publications of the IESG, IAB, and Internet community. RFCs can be obtained from a number of Internet hosts using anonymous FTP, gopher, World Wide Web, and other Internet document-retrieval systems. " ---------" Probably we can drop the reference to gopher. "+++++++++ " The RFC series of documents on networking began in 1969 as part of the original ARPA wide-area networking (ARPANET) project (see Appendix A for glossary of acronyms). RFCs cover a wide range of topics in addition to Internet Standards, from early discussion of new research concepts to status memos about the Internet. RFC publication is the direct responsibility of the RFC Editor, under the general direction of the IAB. " ---------" and the administrative management of the IASA [RFC4071]. "+++++++++ " The rules for formatting and submitting an RFC are defined in [5]. Carpenter Expires August 28, 2006 [Page 5] Internet-Draft Personal critique of RFC 2026 February 2006 " ---------" Note that draft-rfc-editor-rfc2223bis-08.txt is applied today. It would probably be better to externalize this reference since it's in flux and likely to continue so. "+++++++++ " Every RFC is available in ASCII text. Some RFCs are also available in other formats. The other versions of an RFC may contain material (such as diagrams and figures) that is not present in the ASCII version, and it may be formatted differently. " ---------" It seems we have forgotten this in practice. It seems like a good idea. "+++++++++ " A stricter requirement applies to standards-track specifications: the ASCII text version is the definitive reference, and therefore it must be a complete and accurate specification of the standard, including all necessary diagrams and illustrations. " ---------" There are certainly people in the IETF who want to change this, to allow normative reference to graphics and mathematics that are not expressed in ASCII. We have to grasp this nettle and consider whether this is to be allowed and in that case what format (presumably some flavour of PDF) is allowed. "+++++++++ " The status of Internet protocol and service specifications is summarized periodically in an RFC entitled "Internet Official Protocol Standards" [1]. This RFC shows the level of maturity and other helpful information for each Internet protocol or service specification (see section 3). " ---------" I believe this has outlived its usefulness and that an on-line hyperlinked index should be enough. "+++++++++ " Some RFCs document Internet Standards. These RFCs form the 'STD' subseries of the RFC series [4]. When a specification has been adopted as an Internet Standard, it is given the additional label "STDxxx", but it keeps its RFC number and its place in the RFC series. (see section 4.1.3) " ---------" Carpenter Expires August 28, 2006 [Page 6] Internet-Draft Personal critique of RFC 2026 February 2006 I believe that the fact the full Standards receive the STD designation, and that PS and DS documents do not, is a major source of confusion to users of the standards. "+++++++++ " Some RFCs standardize the results of community deliberations about statements of principle or conclusions about what is the best way to perform some operations or IETF process function. These RFCs form the specification has been adopted as a BCP, it is given the additional label "BCPxxx", but it keeps its RFC number and its place in the RFC series. (see section 5) " " Not all specifications of protocols or services for the Internet should or will become Internet Standards or BCPs. Such non-standards track specifications are not subject to the rules for Internet standardization. Non-standards track specifications may be published directly as "Experimental" or "Informational" RFCs at the discretion of the RFC Editor in consultation with the IESG (see section 4.2). " ---------" Factually, the RFC Editor does not have such discretion for IETF documents - it's the IESG approval that defines the status of an IETF RFC. IETF Experimental or Informational RFCs are distinct from direct submissions to the RFC Editor, which are processed under [RFC3932]. "+++++++++ " 2.2 Internet-Drafts " " During the development of a specification, draft versions of the document are made available for informal review and comment by placing them in the IETF's "Internet-Drafts" directory, which is replicated on a number of Internet hosts. This makes an evolving working document readily available to a wide audience, facilitating the process of review and revision. " " An Internet-Draft that is published as an RFC, or that has remained unchanged in the Internet-Drafts directory for more than six months without being recommended by the IESG for publication as an RFC, is " ---------" Not quite true. Expiry is inhibited when a draft enters IESG consideration, not when it is approved. "+++++++++ " simply removed from the Internet-Drafts directory. " ---------" Carpenter Expires August 28, 2006 [Page 7] Internet-Draft Personal critique of RFC 2026 February 2006 We can't duck the question of the status of expired drafts. While some aspects of that may belong to the ipr WG, there are some points to discuss: a) expired drafts are retained in the IETF archive for legal reasons b) we need to consider whether we want to contribute the I-D archive to national patent offices and/or WIPO as part of their prior art databases c) we need to consider whether we wish the expired drafts to be officially visible on the IETF site, given that we know they are unofficially visible in many places d) we need to note that authors may require expired drafts to be removed from visibility (in some countries, this is a legal right) "+++++++++ " At any time, an Internet-Draft may be replaced by a more recent version of the same specification, restarting the six-month timeout period. " " An Internet-Draft is NOT a means of "publishing" a specification; specifications are published through the RFC mechanism described in the previous section. Internet-Drafts have no formal status, and are subject to change or removal at any time. " ---------" Note that this precludes using Internet-Drafts as any form of Stable Snapshot. If we want Stable Snapshots, we'll have to modify this text and the following box. "+++++++++ " 3.1 Technical Specification (TS) " " A Technical Specification is any description of a protocol, service, procedure, convention, or format. " ---------" It seems clear that this does not limit a TS to defining a wire protocol - it doesn't exclude APIs, for example (an API is clearly a convention). And of course it includes data definitions such as MIBs (a MIB is clearly a format). It doesn't exclude a standard that only defines an IANA registry (a registry is also a format). Yet all of these things have led to debate in the IETF - this year I've seen debate about whether a document that only defines a registry can become a Proposed Standard. I think we need to be more explicit. "+++++++++ " ... A TS shall include a statement of its scope and the general intent for its use (domain of applicability). Thus, a TS that is inherently specific to a particular context shall contain a statement Carpenter Expires August 28, 2006 [Page 8] Internet-Draft Personal critique of RFC 2026 February 2006 to that effect. However, a TS does not specify requirements for its use within the Internet; these requirements, which depend on the particular context in which the TS is incorporated by different system configurations, are defined by an Applicability Statement. " ---------" The last sentence is unclear. Is it saying that a TS doesn't contain operational guidelines? There are two issues there. (1) If that's what it means, I think it should be said more clearly. (2) Quite often, the Operations Area comments on a draft TS are, well, asking for operational guidelines. If a TS refers to a foobar timeout, Operations people will insist on specifying a default value and guidance about when to change the default. But the above sentence would suggest that this belongs in a separate AS. "+++++++++ " 3.2 Applicability Statement (AS) " " An Applicability Statement specifies how, and under what circumstances, one or more TSs may be applied to support a particular Internet capability. An AS may specify uses for TSs that are not Internet Standards, as discussed in Section 7. " " An AS identifies the relevant TSs and the specific way in which they are to be combined, and may also specify particular values or ranges of TS parameters or subfunctions of a TS protocol that must be implemented. An AS also specifies the circumstances in which the use of a particular TS is required, recommended, or elective (see section 3.3). " " An AS may describe particular methods of using a TS in a restricted "domain of applicability", such as Internet routers, terminal servers, Internet systems that interface to Ethernets, or datagram- based database servers. " ---------" I'm concerned that the community really doesn't have the habit of writing this sort of AS; it's rare in fact, and very rare in WG charters. On the other, applicability sections embedded in a TS are fairly common. I think it would be more realistic to recognize that and to document separate ASes as the exception case. "+++++++++ " The broadest type of AS is a comprehensive conformance specification, " ---------" I'm not sure the community really believes we are in the business of Carpenter Expires August 28, 2006 [Page 9] Internet-Draft Personal critique of RFC 2026 February 2006 writing conformance specs, so I would change the choice of words. "+++++++++ " commonly called a "requirements document", for a particular class of Internet systems, such as Internet routers or Internet hosts. " ---------" Today, we use the word "requirements" much more broadly, often as a front-end document when a WG is starting out. "+++++++++ " An AS may not have a higher maturity level in the standards track than any standards-track TS on which the AS relies (see section 4.1). For example, a TS at Draft Standard level may be referenced by an AS at the Proposed Standard or Draft Standard level, but not by an AS at the Standard level. " ---------" I think this paragraph should be moved to a general section on normative reference requirements; there is nothing specific to ASes in this rule. See comment below on 4.2.4. "+++++++++ " 3.3 Requirement Levels " ---------" This section assumes a sophistication in ASes that is very rare. I think it would be better to make this a general section on requirement levels, not specific to AS. Maybe it should actually replace RFC 2119, but probably not since that is such a popular citation - but it should provide the basis on which the RFC 2119 keywords build. "+++++++++ "" "... (c) Elective: Implementation of the referenced TS is optional within the domain of applicability of the AS; that is, the AS creates no explicit necessity to apply the TS. However, a particular vendor may decide to implement it, or a particular user may decide that it is a necessity in a specific environment. For example, the DECNET MIB could be seen as valuable in an environment where the DECNET protocol is used. " ---------" Might want to update the example... "+++++++++ Carpenter Expires August 28, 2006 [Page 10] Internet-Draft Personal critique of RFC 2026 February 2006 "" "... (e) Not Recommended: A TS that is considered to be inappropriate for general use is labeled "Not Recommended". This may be because of its limited functionality, specialized nature, or historic status. " " Although TSs and ASs are conceptually separate, in practice a standards-track document may combine an AS and one or more related TSs. " ---------" Exactly. It would be much clearer to the reader if this was said at the beginning of this section. "+++++++++ "" "... The "Official Protocol Standards" RFC (STD1) lists a general requirement level for each TS, using the nomenclature defined in this section. This RFC is updated periodically. In many cases, more detailed descriptions of the requirement levels of particular protocols and of individual features of the protocols will be found in appropriate ASs. " ---------" STD1 seems to be the wrong way to do this today. I'd suggest slightly more general language, e.g. The RFC archive lists..., and leave it as an operational matter how it's actually done. "+++++++++ " 4. THE INTERNET STANDARDS TRACK " ---------" For the following comments to make sense I need to take a position on the three stage standards track. I'm going to say: since there's no consensus to change it, let's keep it, but adjust the rules to make it workable. My personal preference is to adjust to a two stage track, which would simplify things further. "+++++++++ " 4.1.1 Proposed Standard " "... The IESG may require implementation and/or operational experience prior to granting Proposed Standard status to a specification that materially affects the core Internet protocols or that specifies behavior that may have significant operational impact on the Internet. " ---------" Carpenter Expires August 28, 2006 [Page 11] Internet-Draft Personal critique of RFC 2026 February 2006 Specifically, refer to [RFC1264] and draft-fenner-zinin-rtg-standard-reqts. "+++++++++ "" "... Implementors should treat Proposed Standards as immature specifications. It is desirable to implement them in order to gain experience and to validate, test, and clarify the specification. However, since the content of Proposed Standards may be changed if problems are found or better solutions are identified, deploying implementations of such standards into a disruption-sensitive environment is not recommended. " ---------" But when did that ever stop anybody? I think we might need to modify this language to better reflect reality,without removing the warning. Also, as the MIB doctors have observed, some types of spec may benefit from staying at this level. So I think we need to state things differently, indicating that 1. PS is the preliminary level. (Renaming it Preliminary Standard might set expectations appropriately.) 2. Implementors should be aware that a PS may be revised or even withdrawn. 3. It is nevertheless common to use PS implementations operationally. 4. Certain types of specification are likely to be recycled at PS as they evolve rather than being promoted. "+++++++++ " 4.1.2 Draft Standard " ---------" Just as "proposed" standard is effectively interpreted as "preliminary", "draft standard" is effectively interpreted as "definitive". Also we have the problem of confusion with "Internet draft." So here too, a name change might help. In a two stage standards track, the solution the author prefers personally, this stage could be called "interoperable standard". "+++++++++ " A specification from which at least two independent and interoperable implementations from different code bases have been developed, and for which sufficient successful operational experience has been obtained, may be elevated to the "Draft Standard" level. For the purposes of this section, "interoperable" means to be functionally equivalent or interchangeable components of the system or process in which they are used. If patented or otherwise Carpenter Expires August 28, 2006 [Page 12] Internet-Draft Personal critique of RFC 2026 February 2006 controlled technology is required for implementation, the separate implementations must also have resulted from separate exercise of the licensing process. Elevation to Draft Standard is a major advance in status, indicating a strong belief that the specification is mature and will be useful. " " The requirement for at least two independent and interoperable implementations applies to all of the options and features of the specification. " ---------" At least two significant problems arise repeatedly in interpreting this. 1. Is it acceptable if features A and B are shown to be interoperable between implementations X and Y, and features C and D are shown to be interoperable between implentations P and Q? In that case we have shown interoperability of features A, B, C and D but have not shown that any implementation successfully interoperates with all of them. 2. Is it acceptable if both implementations X and Y show interoperability with implementation Q, but the implementor of Q is not party to the tests and does not make any statements about features supported? In other words Q has merely served as an active mirror in the tests. "+++++++++ " In cases in which one or more options or features have not been demonstrated in at least two interoperable implementations, the specification may advance to the Draft Standard level only if those options or features are removed. " " The Working Group chair is responsible for documenting the specific implementations which qualify the specification for Draft or Internet Standard status along with documentation about testing of the interoperation of these implementations. The documentation must include information about the support of each of the individual options and features. This documentation should be submitted to the Area Director with the protocol action request. (see Section 6) " ---------" It's a fact of experience that we need to specify the minimum acceptable contents of an interoperability report in considerably more detail than this. If you look at the database of reports collected over the years, the quality is highly variable and some are very sparse and uninformative. Carpenter Expires August 28, 2006 [Page 13] Internet-Draft Personal critique of RFC 2026 February 2006 "+++++++++ " 4.1.3 Internet Standard " "... A specification that reaches the status of Standard is assigned a number in the STD series while retaining its RFC number. " ---------" There is normally an acronym associated with an STD designation. One procedural change that would reduce user confusion would be for the IESG to assign a new or existing acronym as part of the initial standards action (thus RFC 2821 would have been assigned to SMTP by the IESG) instead of leaving this to the RFC Editor. It's also a matter for debate with the STD number should be assigned at PS stage for simpler tracking - thus RFC 2821 could also be known as PS10. "+++++++++ " 4.2.1 Experimental " " The "Experimental" designation typically denotes a specification that is part of some research or development effort. Such a specification is published for the general information of the Internet technical community and as an archival record of the work, subject only to editorial considerations and to verification that there has been adequate coordination with the standards process (see below). An Experimental specification may be the output of an organized Internet research effort (e.g., a Research Group of the IRTF), an IETF Working Group, or it may be an individual contribution. " ---------" The IESG is concerned about the scope of "experiments" on the Internet and the lack of clear guidelines as to which experiments we should document in the IETF and to what extent we should be concerned about operational consequences. In fact, we've asked the community for discussion on this point. It's also worth looking at http://www.ietf.org/u/ietfchair/draft-iesg-info-exp-01.html before rewriting this paragraph. "+++++++++ " 4.2.2 Informational " " An "Informational" specification is published for the general information of the Internet community, and does not represent an Internet community consensus or recommendation. The Informational designation is intended to provide for the timely publication of a very broad range of responsible informational documents from many sources, subject only to editorial considerations and to verification that there has been adequate coordination with the standards process Carpenter Expires August 28, 2006 [Page 14] Internet-Draft Personal critique of RFC 2026 February 2006 (see section 4.2.3). " ---------" In practice, some Informationals and Experimentals that are published via IESG Approval are very close to being a TS and are evaluated almost as carefully as a TS. Others are more general. "+++++++++ " Specifications that have been prepared outside of the Internet community and are not incorporated into the Internet Standards Process by any of the provisions of section 10 may be published as Informational RFCs, with the permission of the owner and the concurrence of the RFC Editor. " ---------" We need to be much more precise here. First of all I think it means "outside of the IETF process" not "outside of the Internet community." Secondly as part of this year's RFC Editor RFP process, we have to get clarity about the independent submissions track. Since it's outside the standards process, it probably doesn't belong in this document. Probably we should say less, not more. However, fwiw I have inserted comments in the following section. "+++++++++ " 4.2.3 Procedures for Experimental and Informational RFCs " " Unless they are the result of IETF Working Group action, documents intended to be published with Experimental or Informational status should be submitted directly to the RFC Editor. " ---------" That's not what happens. Most of them come via an AD through the IESG because they are (for example) related to a recently closed WG etc. That case needs to be described first here; as just noted, the independent submissions track is separate from the IETF process. "+++++++++ " The RFC Editor will publish any such documents as Internet-Drafts which have not already been so published. " ---------" I believe that is inaccurate, i.e. they ask the authors to do so. "+++++++++ " In order to differentiate these Internet-Drafts they will be labeled or grouped in the I-D directory so they are easily recognizable. " ---------" Carpenter Expires August 28, 2006 [Page 15] Internet-Draft Personal critique of RFC 2026 February 2006 Not true. "+++++++++ " The RFC Editor will wait two weeks after this publication for comments before proceeding further. The RFC Editor is expected to exercise his or her judgment concerning the editorial suitability of a document for publication with Experimental or Informational status, and may refuse to publish a document which, in the expert opinion of the RFC Editor, is unrelated to Internet activity or falls below the technical and/or editorial standard for RFCs. " ---------" Doesn't take account of the editorial board. "+++++++++ " To ensure that the non-standards track Experimental and Informational designations are not misused to circumvent the Internet Standards Process, the IESG and the RFC Editor have agreed that the RFC Editor will refer to the IESG any document submitted for Experimental or Informational publication which, in the opinion of the RFC Editor, may be related to work being done, or expected to be done, within the IETF community. The IESG shall review such a referred document within a reasonable period of time, and recommend either that it be published as originally submitted or referred to the IETF as a contribution to the Internet Standards Process. " ---------" Doesn't take account of [RFC3932]. "+++++++++ "" "... Documents proposed for Experimental and Informational RFCs by IETF Working Groups go through IESG review. The review is initiated using the process described in section 6.1.1. " ---------" Should have been said up front of this section. "+++++++++ " 4.2.4 Historic " " A specification that has been superseded by a more recent specification or is for any other reason considered to be obsolete is assigned to the "Historic" level. (Purists have suggested that the word should be "Historical"; however, at this point the use of "Historic" is historical.) " Carpenter Expires August 28, 2006 [Page 16] Internet-Draft Personal critique of RFC 2026 February 2006 " Note: Standards track specifications normally must not depend on other standards track specifications which are at a lower maturity level or on non standards track specifications other than referenced specifications from other standards bodies. (See Section 7.) " ---------" This seems out of place here - I'd move it to the same place as the last paragraph of section 3.2, i.e. a new section. However, this whole question and the variance procedure of [RFC3967] is a constant cause of publication delays that are essentially bureaucratic. I'd be strongly in favour of a new policy that simply says: Documents on the standards track, or BCPs, may refer normatively to any document on the standards track or to any BCP. "+++++++++ " 5. BEST CURRENT PRACTICE (BCP) RFCs " " The BCP subseries of the RFC series is designed to be a way to standardize practices and the results of community deliberations. A BCP document is subject to the same basic set of procedures as standards track documents and thus is a vehicle by which the IETF community can define and ratify the community's best current thinking on a statement of principle or on what is believed to be the best way to perform some operations or IETF process function. " " Historically Internet standards have generally been concerned with the technical specifications for hardware and software required for computer communication across interconnected networks. However, since the Internet itself is composed of networks operated by a great variety of organizations, with diverse goals and rules, good user service requires that the operators and administrators of the Internet follow some common guidelines for policies and operations. While these guidelines are generally different in scope and style from protocol standards, their establishment needs a similar process for consensus building. " ---------" We should say something about the fact that it is sometimes unclear whether a given document should be standards track, BCP or informational and a few lines about the criteria (and that in the end, it may not really matter). "+++++++++ " While it is recognized that entities such as the IAB and IESG are composed of individuals who may participate, as individuals, in the technical work of the IETF, it is also recognized that the entities themselves have an existence as leaders in the community. As leaders in the Internet technical community, these entities should have an Carpenter Expires August 28, 2006 [Page 17] Internet-Draft Personal critique of RFC 2026 February 2006 outlet to propose ideas to stimulate work in a particular area, to raise the community's sensitivity to a certain issue, to make a statement of architectural principle, or to communicate their thoughts on other matters. The BCP subseries creates a smoothly structured way for these management entities to insert proposals into the consensus-building machinery of the IETF while gauging the community's view of that issue. " ---------" This paragraph is rather strange. Although it's not unknown for a BCP to have its origin in the IETF or IAB, does it really deserve a paragraph and why is the language so tentative? "+++++++++ " 6.1.1 Initiation of Action " " A specification that is intended to enter or advance in the Internet standards track shall first be posted as an Internet-Draft (see section 2.2) unless it has not changed since publication as an RFC. It shall remain as an Internet-Draft for a period of time, not less than two weeks, that permits useful community review, after which a recommendation for action may be initiated. " " A standards action is initiated by a recommendation by the IETF Working group responsible for a specification to its Area Director, copied to the IETF Secretariat or, in the case of a specification not associated with a Working Group, a recommendation by an individual to the IESG. " ---------" In practice, individual submissions are recommended to and shepherded by an AD, who brings them to the IESG just like a WG document. "+++++++++ " 6.1.3 Publication " " If a standards action is approved, notification is sent to the RFC Editor and copied to the IETF with instructions to publish the specification as an RFC. The specification shall at that point be removed from the Internet-Drafts directory. " ---------" "At that point" should be clarified to be the point of publication of the RFC. "+++++++++ " An official summary of standards actions completed and pending shall appear in each issue of the Internet Society's newsletter. Carpenter Expires August 28, 2006 [Page 18] Internet-Draft Personal critique of RFC 2026 February 2006 This shall constitute the "publication of record" for Internet standards actions. " ---------" Why is this necessary? "+++++++++ " The RFC Editor shall publish periodically an "Internet Official Protocol Standards" RFC [1], summarizing the status of all Internet protocol and service specifications. " ---------" As suggested above, this seems less appropriate than simply maintaining the appropriate hypertext indexes. "+++++++++ " 6.2 Advancing in the Standards Track " "... Change of status shall result in republication of the specification as an RFC, except in the rare case that there have been no changes at all in the specification since the last publication. Generally, desired changes will be "batched" for incorporation at the next level in the standards track. However, deferral of changes to the next standards action on the specification will not always be possible or desirable; for example, an important typographical error, or a technical error that does not represent a change in overall function of the specification, may need to be corrected immediately. In such cases, the IESG or RFC Editor may be asked to republish the RFC (with a new number) with corrections, and this will not reset the minimum time-at-level clock. " ---------" Should mention the RFC Errata mechanism here. "+++++++++ " When a standards-track specification has not reached the Internet Standard level but has remained at the same maturity level for twenty-four (24) months, and every twelve (12) months thereafter until the status is changed, the IESG shall review the viability of the standardization effort responsible for that specification and the usefulness of the technology. Following each such review, the IESG shall approve termination or continuation of the development effort, at the same time the IESG shall decide to maintain the specification at the same maturity level or to move it to Historic status. This decision shall be communicated to the IETF by electronic mail to the IETF Announce mailing list to allow the Internet community an opportunity to comment. This provision is not intended to threaten a legitimate and active Working Group effort, but rather to provide an Carpenter Expires August 28, 2006 [Page 19] Internet-Draft Personal critique of RFC 2026 February 2006 administrative mechanism for terminating a moribund effort. " ---------" This is notoriously bogus as no IESG has ever had the cycles to do it. It would be much better to replace it with a statement that the IESG may be asked to advance any standard that has been long enough in grade (or to deprecate any standard or BCP) by the relevant WG if it exists, or by an individual participant if not. And the issue of terminating moribund WGs should be left to RFC 2418(bis). An open question here is whether we should encourage the present habit of closing a WG as soon as all its drafts are approved for PS or whether we should explicitly keep them alive at least until the 6 month timer for PS->DS has popped. "+++++++++ " 6.5 Conflict Resolution and Appeals " ---------" My main comment is that this subsection is misplaced. It's possible to read this as applying only to IESG actions described in this section 6. The IESG has preferred to read it as applying to any IESG decision whatever. I suspect we'd be better off if this was a separate document, but at the minimum it should be promoted to a first level section and its scope of applicability defined precisely but broadly. Also experience suggests we should consider some mechanism to deal with over-enthusiastic use of the appeal mechanism by individuals. "+++++++++ " 6.5.1 Working Group Disputes " "... If the disagreement cannot be resolved by the Area Director(s) any of the parties involved may then appeal to the IESG as a whole. The IESG shall then review the situation and attempt to resolve it in a manner of its own choosing. " ---------" It would be very helpful to give some indication of how much due diligence is expected of the IESG. Today there is a tendency in the IESG to believe that even if an appeal is of doubtful merit, we need to plunge in great detail into the documents and mail archives concerned, and reaching a conclusion can take an inordinate amount of time and stress. Some IESG members would prefer a much more summary approach to appeals. Does the community want us to spend a substantial amount of time on each appeal? (Same comments apply to section 6.5.2.) Carpenter Expires August 28, 2006 [Page 20] Internet-Draft Personal critique of RFC 2026 February 2006 "+++++++++ " If the disagreement is not resolved to the satisfaction of the parties at the IESG level, any of the parties involved may appeal the decision to the IAB. The IAB shall then review the situation and attempt to resolve it in a manner of its own choosing. " ---------" I'm sure the IAB has similar questions. "+++++++++ " 7.1 Use of External Specifications " " To avoid conflict between competing versions of a specification, the Internet community will not standardize a specification that is simply an "Internet version" of an existing external specification " ---------" "IETF version"? "+++++++++ " 8. NOTICES AND RECORD KEEPING " "... As a practical matter, the formal record of all Internet Standards Process activities is maintained by the IETF Secretariat, and is the responsibility of the IETF Secretariat except that each IETF Working Group is expected to maintain their own email list archive and must make a best effort to ensure that all traffic is captured and included in the archives. Also, the Working Group chair is responsible for providing the IETF Secretariat with complete and accurate minutes of all Working Group meetings. Internet-Drafts that have been removed (for any reason) from the Internet-Drafts directories shall be archived by the IETF Secretariat for the sole purpose of preserving an historical record of Internet standards activity and thus are not retrievable except in special circumstances. " ---------" See comments on section 2.2. "+++++++++ " 9. VARYING THE PROCESS " "... The proposed variance must detail the problem perceived, explain the precise provision of this document which is causing the need for a variance, and the results of the IESG's considerations including consideration of points (a) through (d) in the previous paragraph. The proposed variance shall be issued as an Internet Draft. The IESG shall then issue an extended Last-Call, of no less Carpenter Expires August 28, 2006 [Page 21] Internet-Draft Personal critique of RFC 2026 February 2006 than 4 weeks, to allow for community comment upon the proposal. " ---------" This is clumsy. I see no reason why the variance should not be built into the document that will benefit from it, for example in a section named "Process Variance." Having it separate is makework. Publishing it as a separate BCP is pointless expense. "+++++++++ " ... This variance procedure is for use when a one-time waving of some " ---------" The word is 'waiving'. "+++++++++ " 10. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS " ---------" This section is superseded by [RFC3978] and [RFC3979]. 3. Security Considerations This document has no security implications for the Internet. 4. IANA Considerations This document requires no action by the IANA. 5. Acknowledgements Useful comments on this document were made by: TBD... This document was produced using the xml2rfc tool[RFC2629]. 6. Change log [RFC Editor: please remove this section] draft-carpenter-rfc2026-critique-00: original version, 2006-02-24 7. Informative References [RFC1264] Hinden, R., "Internet Engineering Task Force Internet Routing Protocol Standardization Criteria", RFC 1264, October 1991. Carpenter Expires August 28, 2006 [Page 22] Internet-Draft Personal critique of RFC 2026 February 2006 [RFC2026] Bradner, S., "The Internet Standards Process -- Revision 3", BCP 9, RFC 2026, October 1996. [RFC2629] Rose, M., "Writing I-Ds and RFCs using XML", RFC 2629, June 1999. [RFC3932] Alvestrand, H., "The IESG and RFC Editor Documents: Procedures", BCP 92, RFC 3932, October 2004. [RFC3967] Bush, R. and T. Narten, "Clarifying when Standards Track Documents may Refer Normatively to Documents at a Lower Level", BCP 97, RFC 3967, December 2004. [RFC3978] Bradner, S., "IETF Rights in Contributions", BCP 78, RFC 3978, March 2005. [RFC3979] Bradner, S., "Intellectual Property Rights in IETF Technology", BCP 79, RFC 3979, March 2005. [RFC4071] Austein, R. and B. Wijnen, "Structure of the IETF Administrative Support Activity (IASA)", BCP 101, RFC 4071, April 2005. Carpenter Expires August 28, 2006 [Page 23] Internet-Draft Personal critique of RFC 2026 February 2006 Author's Address Brian Carpenter IBM 8 Chemin de Blandonnet 1214 Vernier, Switzerland Email: brc@zurich.ibm.com Carpenter Expires August 28, 2006 [Page 24] Internet-Draft Personal critique of RFC 2026 February 2006 Intellectual Property Statement The IETF takes no position regarding the validity or scope of any Intellectual Property Rights or other rights that might be claimed to pertain to the implementation or use of the technology described in this document or the extent to which any license under such rights might or might not be available; nor does it represent that it has made any independent effort to identify any such rights. Information on the procedures with respect to rights in RFC documents can be found in BCP 78 and BCP 79. Copies of IPR disclosures made to the IETF Secretariat and any assurances of licenses to be made available, or the result of an attempt made to obtain a general license or permission for the use of such proprietary rights by implementers or users of this specification can be obtained from the IETF on-line IPR repository at http://www.ietf.org/ipr. The IETF invites any interested party to bring to its attention any copyrights, patents or patent applications, or other proprietary rights that may cover technology that may be required to implement this standard. Please address the information to the IETF at ietf-ipr@ietf.org. Disclaimer of Validity This document and the information contained herein are provided on an "AS IS" basis and THE CONTRIBUTOR, THE ORGANIZATION HE/SHE REPRESENTS OR IS SPONSORED BY (IF ANY), THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING TASK FORCE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Copyright Statement Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2006). This document is subject to the rights, licenses and restrictions contained in BCP 78, and except as set forth therein, the authors retain all their rights. Acknowledgment Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the Internet Society. Carpenter Expires August 28, 2006 [Page 25]