As per Relevance of the word registration, we have this rfc below:
Network Working Group IETF
Request for Comments: 1718
Obsoletes: 1539, 1391 G.
FYI: 17 Xylogics, Inc
Category: Informational November 1994
The Tao of
A Guide for New Attendees of the Internet Engineering Task
Status of this
This memo provides information for the Internet community. It
not specify an Internet standard. Distribution of this memo
unlimited
Over the last two years, the attendance at Internet Engineering
Force (IETF) plenary meetings has grown phenomenally.
one third of the attendees are new to the IETF at each meeting,
many of those go on to become regular attendees. When the
were smaller, it wasn't very difficult for a newcomer to get into
swing of things. Today, however, a newcomer meets many more
people, some previously known only as the authors of documents
thought provoking e-mail messages
The purpose of this For Your Information (FYI) RFC is to explain
the newcomers how the IETF works. This will give them a warm,
feeling and enable them to make the meeting more productive
everyone. This FYI will also provide the mundane bits of
which everyone who attends an IETF meeting should know
On-line
Due to the nature of this document, it can become outdated
quickly. To overcome this problem, a WorldWide Web version has
created that is constantly maintained (the URL is listed below).
you have a WWW client (such as Mosaic), it is suggested that you
the on-line version in lieu of this document. This document will
republished as an FYI RFC every year to year-and-a-half to help
who do not have access to the WorldWide Web
URL for this document: .
URL for IETF: .
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 1]
RFC 1718 The Tao of IETF November 1994
Table of
Section 1 - The "Fun"
What is the IETF? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Humble Beginnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
The Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
IETF Mailing Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Newcomers' Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Dress Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Seeing Spots Before Your Eyes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Terminal Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Social Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Agenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Other General Things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Section 2 - The "You've got to know it"
Registration Bullets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Mailing Lists and Archives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Important E-mail Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
IETF Proceedings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
InterNIC Archives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Be Prepared . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
RFCs and Internet-Drafts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Frequently Asked Questions (and Their Answers) . . . . . . . 17
Pointers to Useful Documents and Files . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Section 3 - The "Reference"
Tao . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
IETF Area Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
What is the IETF
The Internet Engineering Task Force is a loosely self-organized
of people who make technical and other contributions to
engineering and evolution of the Internet and its technologies.
is the principal body engaged in the development of new
standard specifications. Its mission includes
o Identifying, and proposing solutions to, pressing operational
technical problems in the Internet
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 2]
RFC 1718 The Tao of IETF November 1994
o Specifying the development or usage of protocols and the near-
architecture to solve such technical problems for the Internet
o Making recommendations to the Internet Engineering Steering
(IESG) regarding the standardization of protocols and
usage in the Internet
o Facilitating technology transfer from the Internet Research
Force (IRTF) to the wider Internet community;
o Providing a forum for the exchange of information within
Internet community between vendors, users, researchers,
contractors and network managers
The IETF meeting is not a conference, although there are
presentations. The IETF is not a traditional standards organization
although many specifications are produced that become standards.
IETF is made up of volunteers who meet three times a year to
the IETF mission
There is no membership in the IETF. Anyone may register for
attend any meeting. The closest thing there is to being an
member is being on the IETF or working group mailing lists (see
IETF Mailing Lists section). This is where the best
about current IETF activities and focus can be found
Humble
The 1st IETF meeting was held in January, 1986 at Linkabit in
Diego with 15 attendees. The 4th IETF, held at SRI in Menlo Park
October, 1986, was the first at which non-government
attended. The concept of working groups was introduced at the 5
IETF meeting at the NASA Ames Research Center in California
February, 1987. The 7th IETF, held at MITRE in McLean, Virginia
July, 1987, was the first meeting with over 100 attendees
The 14th IETF meeting was held at Stanford University in July, 1989.
It marked a major change in the structure of the IETF universe.
IAB (then Internet Activities Board, now Internet
Board), which until that time oversaw many "task forces," changed
structure to leave only two: the IETF and the IRTF. The IRTF
tasked to consider the long-term research problems in the Internet
The IETF also changed at that time
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 3]
RFC 1718 The Tao of IETF November 1994
After the Internet Society (ISOC) was formed in January, 1992,
IAB proposed to ISOC that the IAB's activities should take
under the auspices of the Internet Society. During INET92 in Kobe
Japan, the ISOC Trustees approved a new charter for the IAB
reflect the proposed relationship
The IETF met in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in July, 1993. This
the the first IETF meeting held in Europe, and the US/non-US
split was nearly 50/50. A second European meeting is scheduled
July 1995 in Stockholm, Sweden
The
To completely understand the structure of the IETF, it is useful
understand the overall structure in which the IETF resides.
are four groups in the structure: the ISOC and its Board of Trustees
the IAB, the IESG and the IETF itself
The Internet Society is a professional society that is concerned
the growth and evolution of the worldwide Internet, with the way
which the Internet is and can be used, and with the social
political, and technical issues which arise as a result. The
Trustees are responsible for approving appointments to the IAB
among the nominees submitted by the IETF nominating committee
The IAB is a technical advisory group of the ISOC. It is
to provide oversight of the architecture of the Internet and
protocols, and to serve, in the context of the Internet
process, as a body to which the decisions of the IESG may
appealed. The IAB is responsible for approving appointments to
IESG from among the nominees submitted by the IETF
committee
The IESG is responsible for technical management of IETF
and the Internet standards process. As part of the ISOC,
administers the process according to the rules and procedures
have been ratified by the ISOC Trustees. The IESG is
responsible for the actions associated with entry into and
along the Internet "standards track," including final approval
specifications as Internet Standards
The IETF is divided into eight functional areas. They are
Applications, Internet, Network Management, Operational Requirements
Routing, Security, Transport and User Services. Each area has one
two area directors. The area directors, along with the IETF/
Chair, form the IESG. Paul Mockepetris is the current IETF/
Chair
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 4]
RFC 1718 The Tao of IETF November 1994
Each area has several working groups. A working group is a group
people who work under a charter to achieve a certain goal. That
may be the creation of an Informational document, the creation of
protocol specification, or the resolution of problems in
Internet. Most working groups have a finite lifetime. That is,
a working group has achieved its goal, it disbands. As in the IETF
there is no official membership for a working group. Unofficially,
working group member is somebody who is on that working group'
mailing list; however, anyone may attend a working group meeting (
the Be Prepared section below).
Areas may also have Birds of a Feather (BOF) sessions.
generally have the same goals as working groups, except that
have no charter and usually only meet once or twice. BOFs are
held to determine if there is enough interest to form a
group
IETF Mailing
Anyone who plans to attend an IETF meeting should join the
announcement mailing list. This is where all of the
information, Internet-Draft and RFC announcements, and IESG
Actions and Last Calls are posted. People who would like to "
technical" may also join the IETF discussion list
"ietf@cnri.reston.va.us". This is where discussions of
significance are held (most working groups have their own
lists for discussions related to their work). To join the
announcement list, send a request to
ietf-announce-request@cnri.reston.va.
To join the IETF discussion list, send a request to
ietf-request@cnri.reston.va.
To join both of the lists, simply send a single message, to
"-request" address, and indicate that you'd like to join both lists
Do not, ever, under any circumstances, for any reason, send a
to join a list to the list itself! The thousands of people on
list don't need, or want, to know when a new person joins
Similarly, when changing e-mail addresses or leaving a list,
your request only to the "-request" address, not to the main list
This means you!!
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 5]
RFC 1718 The Tao of IETF November 1994
The IETF discussion list is unmoderated. This means that anyone
express their opinions about issues affecting the Internet. However
it is not a place for companies or individuals to solicit
advertise. Only the Secretariat can send messages to
announcement list
Even though the IETF mailing lists "represent" the IETF membership
large, it is important to note that attending an IETF meeting
not automatically include addition to either mailing list
As previously mentioned, all meeting announcements are sent to
IETF announcement list. Within the IETF meeting announcement is
registration form and complete instructions for registering
including, of course, the cost. The Secretariat highly
that attendees preregister. Early registration, which ends about
month before the meeting, carries a lower registration fee. As
size of the meetings has grown, so has the length of the lines at
registration desk. There are two lines: "paid" (which moves
quickly), and "not paid" (which moves slowly).
Registration is open all week. However, the Secretariat
recommends that attendees arrive for early registration, beginning
18:00 (meeting local time), on the Sunday before the opening plenary
Not only will there be fewer people, but there will also be
reception at which people can get a bite to eat. If the
lines are long, one can eat first and try again when the lines
shorter
Registered attendees (and there isn't any other kind) receive
registration packet. It contains a general orientation sheet,
at-a-glance sheet, a list of working group acronyms, the most
agenda and a name tag. The at-a-glance is a very important
and is used throughout the week. It contains working group and
room assignments and a map of room locations. Attendees who
will also find their receipt in their packet
Newcomers'
Newcomers are encouraged to attend the IETF Newcomers' Orientation
As the name implies, it is an orientation for first-time attendees
IETF meetings. The orientation is organized and conducted by
IETF Secretariat and is intended to provide useful
information. The IETF Secretariat is made up of Cynthia Clark,
Coya, Debra Legare, John Stewart and Megan Walnut
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 6]
RFC 1718 The Tao of IETF November 1994
The orientation is typically about an hour long and covers a
of topics: what's in the attendee packets, what all the dots on
tags mean and how to read the at-a-glance. There is also
about the structure of the IETF and the Internet standards process
There is ample time at the end for questions. The Secretariat
provides handouts which include an overview of the IETF, a list
important files available on-line and hard copies of the slides
the "structure and standards" presentation
The orientation is held on Sunday afternoon before the
reception. However, attending the orientation does NOT mean you
go to the reception early
Dress
Since attendees must wear their name tags, they must also wear
or blouses. Pants or skirts are also highly recommended.
though, many newcomers are often embarrassed when they show up
morning in suits, to discover that everybody else is wearing t
shirts, jeans (shorts, if weather permits) and sandals. There
those in the IETF who refuse to wear anything other than suits
Fortunately, they are well known (for other reasons) so they
forgiven this particular idiosyncrasy. The general rule is "
for the weather" (unless you plan to work so hard that you won't
outside, in which case, "dress for comfort" is the rule!).
Seeing Spots Before Your
Some of the people at the IETF will have a little colored dot
their name tag. A few people have more than one. These
identify people who are silly enough to volunteer to do a lot
extra work. The colors have the following meanings
blue - working group/BOF
green - local
red - IAB
yellow - IESG
Local hosts are the people who can answer questions about
terminal room, restaurants and points of interest in the area
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RFC 1718 The Tao of IETF November 1994
Some people have gold stars on their name tags. The stars
that those people chaired working groups or BOFs in the IETF
which submitted all of its working group/BOF minutes and area
from the previous meeting first. The stars are the Secretariat's
of saying "thank you" for providing the necessary
quickly
It is important that newcomers to the IETF not be afraid to strike
conversations with people who wear these dots. If the IAB and
members and working group and BOF chairs didn't want to talk
anybody, they wouldn't be wearing the dots in the first place
In addition, members of the Secretariat wear blue tinted name
so they can be spotted at a distance
To make life simpler for the Secretariat, registration packets
also coded with little colored dots. These are only for
use, so nobody else needs to worry about them. Please, don't
them off your packet and put them on your name tag
Terminal
One of the most important (depending on your point of view)
the local host does is provide Internet access to the
attendees. In general, the connectivity is excellent. This
entirely due to the Olympian efforts of the local hosts, and
ability to beg, borrow and steal. The people and companies
donate their equipment, services and time are to be
congratulated and thanked
While preparation far in advance of the meeting is encouraged,
may be some unavoidable "last minute" things which can
accomplished in the terminal room. It may also be useful to
who need to make trip reports or status reports while things
still fresh in their minds
Social
Another of the most important things organized and managed by
local hosts is the IETF social event. The social event has
something of a tradition at the IETF meetings. It has
immortalized by Marshal T. Rose with his reference to "many
lunches and dinners" [ROSE], and by Claudio and Julia Topolcic
their rendition of "Nerds in Paradise" on a pink T-shirt
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Sometimes, the social event is a computer or high-tech related event
At the Boston IETF, for example, the social was dinner at
Computer Museum. Other times, the social might be a dinner cruise
a trip to an art gallery
Newcomers to the IETF are encouraged to attend the social event
Everyone is encouraged to wear their name tags. The social event
designed to give people a chance to meet on a social, rather
technical, level
The agenda for the IETF meetings is a very fluid thing. It is sent
in various forms, to the IETF announcement list three times prior
the meeting. The final agenda is included in the
packets. Of course, "final" in the IETF doesn't mean the same
as it does elsewhere in the world. The final agenda is simply
version that went to the printers
The Secretariat will announce agenda changes during the
plenary sessions. Changes will also be posted on the bulletin
near the IETF registration desk (not the hotel registration desk).
Assignments for breakout rooms (where the working groups and
meet) and a map showing the room locations make up the at-a-
sheet (included in the registration packets). Room assignments
as flexible as the agenda. Some working groups meet multiple
during a meeting and every attempt is made to have a working
meet in the same room each session. Room assignment changes are
necessarily permanent for the week. Always check the at-a-
first, then the bulletin board. When in doubt, check with a
of the Secretariat at the registration desk
Other General
The opening plenary on Monday morning is the most heavily
session. It is where important introductory remarks are made,
people are encouraged to attend
The IETF Secretariat, and IETFers in general, are very approachable
Never be afraid to approach someone and introduce yourself. Also
don't be afraid to ask questions, especially when it comes to
and acronyms
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 9]
RFC 1718 The Tao of IETF November 1994
Hallway conversations are very important. A lot of very good
gets done by people who talk together between meetings and
lunches and dinners. Every minute of the IETF can be considered
time (much to some people's dismay).
A "bar BOF" is an unofficial get-together, usually in the
evening, during which a lot of work gets done over drinks
It's unwise to get between a hungry IETFer (and there isn't any
kind) and coffee break brownies and cookies, no matter
interesting a hallway conversation is
IETFers are fiercely independent. It's safe to question opinions
offer alternatives, but don't expect an IETFer to follow orders
The IETF, and the plenary sessions in particular, are not places
vendors to try to sell their wares. People can certainly
questions about their company and its products, but bear in mind
the IETF is not a trade show. This does not preclude people
recouping costs for IETF related t-shirts, buttons and
protectors
There is always a "materials distribution table" near
registration desk. This desk is used to make appropriate
available to the attendees (e.g., copies of something discussed in
working group session, description of on-line IETF-
information, etc.). Please check with the Secretariat before
materials on the desk; the Secretariat has the right to
material that they feel is not appropriate
Registration
Registration is such an important topic that it's in this RFC twice
This is the "very important registration bullets" section
o To attend an IETF meeting you have to register and you have to
the registration fee
o All you need to do to be registered is to send in a
registration form
o You may register by mail, e-mail or fax. Generally, e-mail
fax registration forms will be accepted until 13:00 US/Eastern
the Thursday before the meeting
o You may preregister and pay, preregister and pay later
preregister and pay on-site, or register and pay on-site
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 10]
RFC 1718 The Tao of IETF November 1994
o To get the lower registration fee, you must register by the
registration deadline (about one month before the meeting).
can still pay later or on-site
o If you don't register by the early registration deadline, a
fee is added
o Everyone pays the same fees. There are no educational or
discounts. There are no discounts for attending only part of
week
o Register only ONE person per registration form. Substitutions
NOT allowed
o You may register then pay later, but you may not pay then
later. Payment MUST be accompanied by a completed
form
o Purchase orders are NOT accepted. DD Form 1556 is accepted
Invoice for payment cannot be accepted
o Refunds are subject to a US$20 service charge. Late fees will
be refunded
o The registration fee covers Sunday evening reception (cash bar),
daily continental breakfast and daily coffee breaks
Mailing Lists and
As previously mentioned, the IETF announcement and discussion
lists are the central mailing lists for IETF activities. However
there are many other mailing lists related to IETF work.
example, every working group has its own discussion list.
addition, there are some long-term technical debates which have
moved off of the IETF list onto lists created specifically for
topics. It is highly recommended that everybody follow
discussions on the mailing lists of the working groups which
wish to attend. The more work that is done on the mailing lists,
less work that will need to be done at the meeting, leaving time
cross pollination (i.e., attending working groups outside one'
primary area of interest in order to broaden one's perspective).
The mailing lists also provide a forum for those who wish to follow
or contribute to, the working groups' efforts, but cannot attend
IETF meetings
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 11]
RFC 1718 The Tao of IETF November 1994
All IETF discussion lists have a "-request" address which handles
administrative details of joining and leaving the list. It
generally frowned upon when such administrivia appears on
discussion mailing list
Most IETF discussion lists are archived. That is, all of
messages sent to the list are automatically stored on a host
anonymous FTP access. To find out where a particular list
archived, send a message to the list's "-request" address, NOT to
list itself
Important E-mail
There are some important IETF e-mail addresses with which
should be familiar. They are all located at "cnri.reston.va.us
(e.g., "ietf-info@cnri.reston.va.us"). To personalize things,
names of the Secretariat staff who currently respond to the
are given for each address
o ietf-info general queries about the IETF - Cynthia Clark
Debra Legare, John Stewart, and Megan
o ietf-rsvp queries about meeting locations and fees
e-mailed registration forms - Debra
o proceedings queries about ordering hard copies of
proceedings, and general questions about on-
proceedings - Debra Legare and John
o ietf-request requests to join/leave IETF lists - Cynthia
o internet-drafts Internet-Draft submissions and queries -
Clark and John
o iesg-secretary John
o ietf-secretariat Steve
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 12]
RFC 1718 The Tao of IETF November 1994
IETF
The IETF proceedings are compiled in the two months following
IETF meeting. The proceedings usually start with a message
Steve Coya, the Executive Director of the IETF. Each contains
final (hindsight) agenda, an IETF overview, a report from the IESG
area and working group reports, network status briefings, slides
the protocol and technical presentations and the attendees list.
attendees list includes names, affiliations, work and fax
numbers and e-mail addresses as provided on the registration form
Folks who register and pay to attend the IETF are eligible to
a hard copy of the proceedings. They must indicate so on the
provided on the registration form. The proceedings are sent to
mailing addresses provided on the registration forms. Please
the Secretariat immediately if your address information changes
the meeting ends so you can be assured of receiving your copy
For those who could not attend a meeting but would like a copy of
proceedings, send a check for US$35 (made payable to CNRI) to
Corporation for National Research
Attn: Accounting Department - IETF
1895 Preston White Drive, Suite 100
Reston, VA 22091
Please indicate which meeting proceedings you would like to
by specifying the meeting date (e.g., July 1993) or meeting
and location (e.g., 27th meeting in Amsterdam). Availability
previous meetings' proceedings is limited, so ask BEFORE
payment
The proceedings are also available on-line via
o Gopher:
o WorldWide Web:
o Anonymous FTP: in /ietf-online
People are encouraged to use the on-line version of the
to save paper and money, as well as to have the Internet
use its own technology
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 13]
RFC 1718 The Tao of IETF November 1994
InterNIC
There is a tremendous amount of material available for those
follow the work of the IETF. To make it easier to know what to
to prepare for a meeting, the InterNIC has established a
archive. Beginning about one month prior to an IETF meeting,
group/BOF chairs and area directors put documents relevant to
discussions to be held into the archives. Those people who plan
attend a working group/BOF session should check the archives
documents which need to be read. The documents are left in
archives for about two months after the end of the IETF meeting
On the host "ds.internic.net", documents are stored in the
"/pub/current-ietf-docs" under subdirectories named for each area
then for each working group. For example, a document for the
Working Group, which is in the User Services Area, would be stored
"current-ietf-docs/usv/nisi/nisi-doc1.txt". Each area will also
a subdirectory called "bof", where documents to be discussed in
sessions will be placed. A directory called "plenary" will also
created under "/pub/current-ietf-docs" to put documents or
related to a plenary session. Any filename conflicts will
resolved by the archive administrator working with the submitter
the document via e-mail
It is important to note that the service is provided by the
and that the documents are submitted by the people who work on them
The IETF Secretariat does not manage or monitor the archive service
Access via anonymous FTP
Anonymous FTP to ds.internic.
Change directory to /pub/current-ietf-
Browse and get the document of
Access via Gopher (from a Gopher client):
Point to gopher.internic.
Select the "InterNIC Directory and Database Services ..."
Then menu item named "Internet Documentation (RFCs FYIs, etc.)/"
Lastly menu item named "Current IETF Conference Documents (...)/"
If you do not have a Gopher client, use the InterNIC's public-
Gopher client. Simply telnet to "gopher.internic.net" and login
"gopher" (no password required).
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 14]
RFC 1718 The Tao of IETF November 1994
Be
This topic cannot be stressed enough. As the IETF grows, it
more and more important for attendees to arrive prepared for
working group meetings they plan to attend. This doesn't apply
to newcomers--everybody should come prepared
Being prepared means having read the documents which the
group or BOF chair has distributed. It means having followed
discussions on the working group's mailing list or having
the archives. For the working group/BOF chairs, it means getting
of the documents out early (i.e., several weeks) to give
time to read them and announcing an agenda and sticking to it
At the chair's discretion, some time may be devoted to bringing
working group attendees up to speed. In fact, long lived
groups have occasionally held entire sessions which were
in nature. As a rule, however, a working group is not the place
go for training. Observers are always welcome, but they must
that the work effort cannot be delayed for education. Anyone
to attend a working group for the first time might seek out the
prior to the meeting and ask for some introduction
Another thing for everybody to consider is that working groups
through phases. In the initial phase (say, the first two meetings),
all ideas are welcome. The idea is to gather all the
solutions together for consideration. In the development phase,
solution is chosen and developed. Trying to reopen issues which
decided more than a couple of meetings back is considered bad form
The final phase (the last two meetings) is where the "spit
polish" are applied to the architected solution. This is not
time to suggest architectural changes or open design issues
resolved. It's a bad idea to wait until the last minute to speak
if a problem is discovered. This is especially true for people
excuse is that they hadn't read the documents until the day before
comments period ended
Time at the IETF meetings is a precious thing. Working groups
encouraged to meet between IETF meetings, either in person or
video or telephone conference. Doing as much work as possible
the mailing lists would also reduce the amount of work which must
done at the meeting
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 15]
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RFCs and Internet-
Originally, RFCs were just what the name implies: requests
comments. The early RFCs were messages between the
architects about how to resolve certain problems. Over the years
RFCs became more formal. It reached the point that they were
cited as standards, even when they weren't
To help clear up some confusion, there are now two special sub-
within the RFCs: FYIs and STDs. The For Your Information RFC sub
series was created to document overviews and topics which
introductory. Frequently, FYIs are created by groups within the
User Services Area. The STD RFC sub-series was created to
those RFCs which do in fact specify Internet standards
Every RFC, including FYIs and STDs, have an RFC number by which
are indexed and by which they can be retrieved. FYIs and STDs
FYI numbers and STD numbers, respectively, in addition to
numbers. This makes it easier for a new Internet user, for example
to find all of the helpful, informational documents by looking
the FYIs amongst all the RFCs. If an FYI or STD is revised, its
number will change, but its FYI or STD number will remain
for ease of reference
There is also an RTR subseries of RFCs for Reseaux Associes pour
Recherche Europeenne (RARE) Technical Reports. These are
reports developed in the RARE community that are published as RFCs
provide easy access to the general Internet community
Internet-Drafts are working documents of the IETF. Any group
individual may submit a document for distribution as an Internet
Draft. These documents are valid for six months, and may be updated
replaced or obsoleted at any time. Guidelines require that
expiration date appear on every page of an Internet-Draft. It is
appropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference material or to
them, other than as "working drafts" or "works in progress."
For additional information, read the following documents
o Request for Comments on Request for Comments [RFC 1111]
o F.Y.I. on F.Y.I: Introduction to the F.Y.I notes [FYI1]
o Introduction to the STD Notes [RFC 1311]
o Guidelines to Authors of Internet-Drafts [GAID
o The Internet Activities Board [RFC 1160]
o The Internet Standards Process [RFC 1602]
o Internet Official Protocol Standards [STD1]
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 16]
RFC 1718 The Tao of IETF November 1994
Frequently Asked Questions (and Their Answers
Q: My working group moved this morning. Where is it now
A: Check the at-a-glance sheet and the message board
announcements
Q: Where is room 'foo'?
A: Check the map on the at-a-glance sheet. An enlarged version is
the bulletin board
Q: Where can I get a copy of the proceedings
A: If you have registered and paid to attend an IETF meeting
indicate you wish to receive a hardcopy of the proceedings and
will be mailed to you. For on-line retrieval refer to "
Proceedings" section which appears on page thirteen of this RFC
Both the hardcopy and on-line version of the proceedings
generally available two months after the meeting
Q: When is on-site registration
A: On-site registration is first possible from 18:00 to 20:00 on
Sunday night before the meeting starts. The IETF registration
will be set up in the same room in which the reception is held
On-site registration on Monday begins at 8:00, Tuesday
Friday at 8:30, and is open until 18:00 every day but Friday
Q: Where is lunch served
A: The meeting does not include lunch or dinner. Ask a local
(somebody with a green dotted badge) for a recommendation
Q: Where are the receipts for the social event
A: The social is not managed by the IETF Secretariat. Ask a
host
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 17]
RFC 1718 The Tao of IETF November 1994
Pointers to Useful Documents and
This is a list of documents and files that provide useful
about the IETF meetings, working groups and documentation.
files reside in the "ietf" directory on the anonymous FTP
listed below. File names beginning with "0" (zero) pertain to
meetings; these may refer to a recently held meeting if the
announcement of the next meeting has not yet been sent to the
mailing list. File names beginning with "1" (one) contain
IETF information. This is only a partial list of the
files. (The 'yymm' below refers to the year and month.)
o 0mtg-agenda.txt Agenda for the
o 0mtg-at-a-glance-yymm.txt Logistics information for the
o 0mtg-rsvp.txt Meeting registration
o 0mtg-sites.txt Future meeting sites and
o 0mtg-multicast-guide-yymm.txt Schedule for MBone-multicast
o 0mtg-traveldirections-yymm.txt Directions to the meeting
o 0tao.txt This
o 1directories.txt IETF shadow directory locations
o 1id-guidelines.txt Guidelines to authors of Internet
o 1ietf-description.txt Short description of the IETF
IESG, including a list of
o 1nonwg-discuss.txt A list of mailing lists relevant
the IETF, but not associated
working
o 1proceedings-request.txt A proceedings order
o 1wg-summary.txt List of all working groups,
area, including the chair(s)
mailing
o 1wg-summary-by-acronym.txt Same as above, but sorted
o 1wg-charter.txt Abbreviated versions of all
working group
o 1wg-charters-by-acronym.txt Same as above, but sorted
Additionally, the full charters and minutes of the working groups
BOFs are archived under the "ietf" directory (see 1directories.
for a complete explanation).
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 18]
RFC 1718 The Tao of IETF November 1994
All of these documents are available by anonymous FTP from
following primary sites (there may be closer shadow sites, so
with your network administrator):
o Europe: nic.nordu.net (192.36.148.17)
o Pacific Rim: munnari.oz.au (128.250.1.21)
o US/East Coast: ds.internic.net (198.49.45.10)
o US/West Coast: ftp.isi.edu (128.9.0.32)
These files are also available through the Internet Gopher on
"gopher.ietf.cnri.reston.va.us" and the WorldWide Web server at
.
Residing on the same archive sites are the RFCs and Internet-Drafts
They are in the "rfc" and "internet-drafts" directories
respectively. The file "1rfc_index.txt" contains the
information about the RFCs (e.g., which have been obsoleted
which). In general, only the newest version of an Internet-Draft
available
All of the files, RFCs and Internet-Drafts are also available via e
mail from various mail servers. To to get the IETF agenda
Internet-Draft abstracts and RFC 1150 from the mail server at
InterNIC, for example, you would send the following message
To: mailserv@ds.internic.net Message
Subject: anything you
FILE /ietf/0mtg-agenda.txt Body of the
FILE /internet-drafts/1id-abstracts.
FILE /rfc/rfc1150.
PATH jdoe@anywhere.
Where FILE specifies the name of a file to be returned and PATH is
optional command that specifies the e-mail address to which
file(s) should be sent. The file(s) can be returned in one or
MIME messages by adding the command "ENCODING mime" to the top of
message
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 19]
RFC 1718 The Tao of IETF November 1994
RFCs may also be retrieved via e-mail from ISI's RFC-Info server
"rfc-info@isi.edu". To get a specific RFC, include the following
the body of the message
Retrieve:
Doc-ID: RFC0951
This example would cause a copy of RFC 951 (the leading zero in
Doc-ID is required) to be e-mailed to the requestor. To get a
of available RFCs which match certain criteria, include the
in the body of the message
LIST:
Keywords:
This example would e-mail a list of all RFCs with "gateway" in
title or as an assigned keyword. To get information on other ways
get RFCs
HELP: ways_to_get_
Pronounced "dow", Tao means "the way." It is the basic
behind the teachings of Lao-tse, a Chinese master. Its
symbol is the black and white Yin-Yang circle
IETF Area
APP
INT Internet
IPNG IP: Next
MGT Network
OPS Operational
RTG
SEC
TSV
USV User
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 20]
RFC 1718 The Tao of IETF November 1994
:-) Smiley
ANSI American National Standards
ARPA Advanced Research Projects
ARPANET Advanced Research Projects Agency
AS Autonomous
ATM Asynchronous Transfer
BGP Border Gateway
BOF Birds Of a
BSD Berkeley Software
BTW By The
CCIRN Coordinating Committee for Intercontinental Research
CCITT International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative
CIDR Classless Inter-Domain
CIX Commercial Information
CNI Coalition for Networked
CREN The Corporation for Research and Educational
DARPA US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (now ARPA
DDN US Defense Data
DISA US Defense Information Systems
EGP Exterior Gateway
FAQ Frequently Asked
FARNET Federation of American Research
FIX US Federal Information
FNC US Federal Networking
FQDN Fully Qualified Domain
FYI For Your Information (RFC
GOSIP US Government OSI
IAB Internet Architecture
IANA Internet Assigned Numbers
I-D Internet-
IEN Internet Experiment
IESG Internet Engineering Steering
IETF Internet Engineering Task
IGP Interior Gateway
IMHO In My Humble
IMR Internet Monthly
InterNIC Internet Network Information
IPng IP: Next
IR Internet
IRSG Internet Research Steering
IRTF Internet Research Task
ISO International Organization for
ISOC Internet
ISODE ISO Development
ITU International Telecommunication
MIB Management Information
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 21]
RFC 1718 The Tao of IETF November 1994
MIME Multipurpose Internet Mail
NIC Network Information
NIS Network Information
NIST National Institute of Standards and
NOC Network Operations
NREN National Research and Education
NSF National Science
OSI Open Systems
PEM Privacy Enhanced
PTT Postal, Telegraph and
RARE Reseaux Associes pour la Recherche
RFC Request For
RIPE Reseaux IP
SIG Special Interest
STD Standard (RFC
TLA Three Letter
TTFN Ta-Ta For
UTC Universal Time
WG Working
WRT With Respect
WYSIWYG What You See is What You
The IETF Secretariat would like to acknowledge the time and
of Gary Malkin who prepared the first version of this document (
1391), and coordinated all the changes in the first revision (
1539). Without his help, this document might still be "in progress."
FYI1 Malkin, G., and J. Reynolds, "F.Y.I. on F.Y.I.", FYI 1,
1150, Proteon, USC/Information Sciences Institute,
1990.
GAID "Guidelines to Authors of Internet Drafts",
1id-guidelines.txt
ROSE Rose, M., "The Open Book: A Practical Perspective on OSI",
Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1989.
RFC1543 Postel, J., "Request for Comments on Request for Comments",
RFC 1543, USC/Information Sciences Institute, August 1989.
RFC1160 Cerf, V., "The Internet Activities Board", RFC 1160, NRI,
1990.
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 22]
RFC 1718 The Tao of IETF November 1994
RFC1602 Chapin, L., Chair, "The Internet Standards Process",
1602, Internet Activities Board, March 1992.
RFC1311 Postel, J., Editor, "Introduction to the STD Notes",
1311, USC/Information Sciences Institute, March 1992.
STD1 Postel, J., Editor, "Internet Official Protocol Standards",
STD 1, RFC 1720, Internet Architecture Board, November 1994.
Security
Security issues are not discussed in this memo
Authors'
The IETF
c/o Corporation for National Research
1895 Preston White
Suite 100
Reston, VA 22091
Phone: +1 703 620 8990
Fax: +1 703 620 0913
EMail: ietf-info@cnri.reston.va.
Gary Scott
Xylogics, Inc
53 Third
Burlington, MA 01803
Phone: +1 617 272 8140
EMail: gmalkin@Xylogics.
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 23]
if you see any problems within the linking, don't worry be happy,
this is version 0.1 of the Relevance System and you gotta expect some crappy subroutines sometimes,
just be content we did not write this in Java, which would have made this "bigger and better" HAHAHHA.
RFC documents can be found at I.E.T.F.
Relevance System Copyright © 2002 Spectrum WorldResearch
other technical nosh by ServerMasters Corporation
collaboration of BobX
