As per Relevance of the word registration, we have this rfc below:
Network Working Group G.
Request for Comments: 1539 Xylogics, Inc
Obsoletes: 1391 October 1993
FYI: 17
Category:
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.
38% of the attendees are new to the IETF at each meeting. About 33%
of those go on to become regular attendees. When the meetings
smaller, it wasn't very difficult for a newcomer to get to
people and get into the swing of things. Today, however, a
meets many more new people, some previously known only as the
of Request For Comments (RFC) documents or thought provoking
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
The IETF Secretariat is made up of the following people: Steve
(Executive Director of the IETF), Cynthia Clark, Lois Keiper,
Legare, John Stewart, and Megan Davies Walnut. These are the
behind the Registration Table, and the success, of the IETF meetings
I thank them for their hard work, and for their input and review
this document. Thanks also to Vinton Cerf, Christian Huitema,
Jon Postel for their review and comments. And, as always,
thanks to April Marine and Joyce Reynolds
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 1]
RFC 1539 The Tao of IETF October 1993
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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
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 Email Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
IETF Proceedings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
InterNIC Archives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Be Prepared . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
RFCs and Internet-Drafts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Frequently Asked Questions (and Their Answers) . . . . . . . 16
Pointers to Useful Documents and Files . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Section 3 - The "Reference"
Tao . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
IETF Area Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Author's Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
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 1539 The Tao of IETF October 1993
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 Plenary meeting is not a conference, although there
technical presentations. The IETF is not a traditional
organization, although many standards are produced. The IETF is
volunteers who meet three times a year to fulfill 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 first 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 (WG) was introduced at
5th 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 1539 The Tao of IETF October 1993
After the Internet Society (ISOC) was formed in January 1992, the
proposed to ISOC that the IAB's activities should take place
the auspices of the Internet Society. During INET92, in Kobe, Japan
the ISOC Trustees approved a new charter for the IAB to reflect
proposed relationship
A recent first for the IETF was its first European meeting. In July
1993, the IETF met in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The U.S./non-U.S
attendees split was nearly 50/50.
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
(BOT), the IAB, the IESG, and the IETF itself
Internet standardization is an organized activity of the ISOC.
ISOC is a professional society that is concerned with the growth
evolution of the worldwide Internet, with the way in which
Internet is and can be used, and with the social, political,
technical issues which arise as a result. The BOT is responsible
approving appointments to the IAB from among the nominees
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 BOT. The IESG is directly
for the actions associated with entry into and movement along
IETF "standards track", including final approval of specifications
Internet Standards
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 4]
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The IETF is divided into nine functional Areas. They are
Applications, Internet Services, Network Management,
Requirements, Routing, Security, Service Applications, Transport,
User Services. Each Area has at least one Area Director. There
also an Area Director who oversees Standards Management. The
Directors, along with the IETF Chair, form the IESG. Phillip
has been the IETF Chair since the IETF's 7th meeting. He founded
IESG and serves as its Chair as well
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 standard, or the resolution of problems in the Internet
Most Working Groups have a finite lifetime. That is, once a
Group has achieved its goal, it disbands. As in the IETF, there
no official membership for a Working Group. Unofficially, a
Group member is somebody who's on that Working Group's mailing list
however, anyone may attend a Working Group meeting (see the
Prepared section below).
Areas may also have Birds of a Feather (BOF) groups. They
have the same goals as Working Groups, except that they have
charter and usually only meet once or twice. BOFs are often held
determine if there is enough interest to form a Working Group
IETF Mailing
Anyone who plans to attend an IETF meeting should join the
announcements mailing list. This is where all of the
information, new and revised Internet-Draft and RFC announcements
IESG Recommendations, and Last Calls are posted. People who'd
to "get technical" may also join the IETF discussion list
"ietf@cnri.reston.va.us". This was the only list before
announcement list was created and is where discussions of
significance are held (most Working Groups have their own
lists for discussions relating 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
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 5]
RFC 1539 The Tao of IETF October 1993
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 email addresses or leaving a list, send
request only to the "-request" address, not to the main list.
means you!!
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 a message 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. Fortunately, there are three lines
"preregistered and prepaid" (which moves very quickly),
"preregistered and on-site payment" (which moves a little
slowly), and "registration and on-site payment" (take a guess).
Registration is open all week. However, the Secretariat
recommends that attendees arrive for early registration, beginning
6:00 P.M. (meeting local time), on the Sunday before the
plenary. Not only will there be fewer people, but there will also
a reception at which people can get a byte to eat. If
registration lines are long, one can eat first and try again when
lines are 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
reference and is used throughout the week. It contains
Group/BOF room assignments and a map of room locations.
who prepaid will also find their receipt in their packet
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 6]
RFC 1539 The Tao of IETF October 1993
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 Secretariat tries to keep the orientation
informal, and is usually successful at it
The orientation is typically 30-45 minutes 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 organization of the IETF: Working Groups and their Areas
and the IESG. There is ample time at the end for questions.
Secretariat also provides handouts which include the text from
IETF Overview and a list of important files maintained on the
Shadow directories
The orientation is held on Sunday afternoon and ends about 30
before the Registration Reception. However, attending
orientation does NOT mean you can 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
red - IAB
yellow - IESG
blue - Working Group/BOF
green - Local
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RFC 1539 The Tao of IETF October 1993
Local hosts are the people who can answer questions about
terminal room, restaurants, and points of interest in the area
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
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 Rose with his reference to "many fine
and dinners" [ROSE], and by Claudio and Julia Topolcic with
rendition of "Nerds in Paradise" on a pink T-shirt
Newcomers to the IETF are encouraged to attend the social event
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 8]
RFC 1539 The Tao of IETF October 1993
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
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
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 Table (not the hotel registration desk).
Assignments for breakout rooms (that's where the Working Groups
BOFs meet) and a map showing the room locations make up the At-A
Glance sheet (included in the Registration Packets).
assignments are as flexible as the Agenda. Some Working Groups
multiple times during a meeting and every attempt is made to have
Working Group meet in the same room each session. Room
changes are not necessarily permanent for the week. Always check
At-A-Glance first, then the bulletin board. When in doubt,
with a member of the Secretariat at the Registration Table
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 1539 The Tao of IETF October 1993
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
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
pay 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, email or fax. Generally, email and
registration forms will be accepted until 1:00 P.M. ET on
Friday before the meeting
o You may preregister and pay, preregister and pay later
preregister and pay on-site, or register and pay on-site
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
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 10]
RFC 1539 The Tao of IETF October 1993
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 $20 service charge. Late fees will
be refunded
o The registration fee covers a copy of the meeting's Proceedings
Sunday evening reception (cash bar), a daily
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
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
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 11]
RFC 1539 The Tao of IETF October 1993
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 Email
There are some important IETF email 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 respond to the messages are
for each address
o ietf-info general queries about the IETF -
Cynthia Clark, Debra Legare, John Stewart
and Megan Davies
o ietf-rsvp queries about meeting locations and fees
emailed Registration Forms -
Debra
o proceedings queries about previous Proceedings availability
orders for copies of the Proceedings -
Debra
o ietf-announce-
requests to join/leave IETF announcement list -
Cynthia
o ietf-request requests to join/leave IETF discussion list -
Cynthia
o internet-drafts Internet-Draft submissions and queries -
Cynthia
o iesg-secretary John
o ietf-secretariat Steve
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 12]
RFC 1539 The Tao of IETF October 1993
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
The attendees list includes an attendee's name, affiliation,
phone number, work fax number, and email address, as provided on
Registration Form
A copy of the Proceedings will be sent to everyone who registered
the IETF. The cost is included in the registration fee.
Proceedings are sent to the mailing addresses provided on
Registration Forms
For those who could not attend a meeting but would like a copy of
Proceedings send a check for $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
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 relevent 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
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RFC 1539 The Tao of IETF October 1993
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 email
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 menu item 4, InterNIC Directory and Database Services ...
Then menu item named "Internet Documentation (RFC's FYI's, 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).
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
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 14]
RFC 1539 The Tao of IETF October 1993
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
RFCs and Internet-
Originally, RFCs were just what the name implies; they were
for 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
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 15]
RFC 1539 The Tao of IETF October 1993
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 contant
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 (I-D) are working documents of the IETF. Any
(e.g., Working Group, BOF) or individual may submit a document
distribution as an I-D. An I-D is valid for six months.
require that an expiration date appear on every page of an I-D.
I-D may be updated, replaced or obsoleted at any time. It is
appropriate to use I-Ds as reference material or to cite them,
than as a "working draft" or "work in progress".
For additional information, read the following documents
o Request for Comments on Request for Comments [RFC1111]
o F.Y.I. on F.Y.I: Introduction to the F.Y.I notes [FYI1]
o Introduction to the STD Notes [RFC1311]
o Guidelines to Authors of Internet Drafts [GAID
o The Internet Activities Board [RFC1160]
o The Internet Standards Process [RFC1310]
o Internet Official Protocol Standards [STD1]
Frequently Asked Questions (and Their Answers
Q: My Working Group moved this morning. Where is it now
A: Not all room assignment changes are permanent. Check the At-A
Glance sheet and the message board for announcements
Q: Where is Room A
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: The Proceedings are automatically sent to each attendee about
months after the meeting
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 16]
RFC 1539 The Tao of IETF October 1993
Q: When is on-site registration
A: The IETF registration table is set up Sunday night from 6:00 p.m
- 8:00 p.m. and Monday - Thursday from about 8:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m
Starting time in the mornings and Friday's hours may
depending on the meeting schedule
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
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. Files with names beginning with "0" (zero) pertain
IETF meetings. These may refer to a recently held meeting if
first announcement of the next meeting has not yet been sent to
IETF mailing list. Files with names beginning with "1" (one)
general IETF information. This is only a partial list of
available files
o 0mtg-agenda.txt Agenda for the
o 0mtg-at-a-glance.txt Logistics information for the
o 0mtg-rsvp.txt Meeting registration
o 0mtg-sites.txt Future meeting sites and
o 0mtg-traveldirections.txt Directions to the meeting
o 0tao.txt This
o 1directories.txt The IETF Shadow directory locations
contents
o 1id-guidelines.txt Guidelines to Authors of Internet-
Contains information on writing
submitting I-Ds
o 1ietf-description.txt Short description of the IETF and IESG
including a list of Area Directors
o 1nonwg-discuss.txt A list of mailing lists created
discuss specific IETF issues
o 1proceedings-request.txt A Proceedings order form for
current and previous meetings
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 17]
RFC 1539 The Tao of IETF October 1993
o 1wg-summary.txt List of all Working Groups, by Area
including the name and address of
chairperson, and the mailing
address
o 1wg-summary-by-acronym Same as above, but sorted by
Working Groups' acronyms
o 1wg-charter.txt Abbreviated versions of all
Working Group charters
o 1wg-charters-by-acronym Same as above, but sorted by
Working Groups' acronyms
Additionally, the full charters and minutes of the Working Groups
BOFs are archived in the "ietf" directory
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 North America Address: ds.internic.net (198.49.45.10)
o Pacific Rim Address: munnari.oz.au (128.250.1.21)
o Europe Address: nic.nordu.net (192.36.148.17)
These files are also available through the Internet Gopher
"ietf.cnri.reston.va.us".
Residing on the same archive sites are the RFCs and Internet-Drafts
They are in the "rfc" and "internet-drafts" directories
respectively. The file "rfc-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
email 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
specifies the email address to which the file(s) should be sent
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 18]
RFC 1539 The Tao of IETF October 1993
RFCs may also be retrieved, using email, from ISI's RFC-Info
at "rfc-info@isi.edu". To get a specific RFC, include the
in 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 emailed to the requestor. To get a list
available RFCs which match certain criteria, include the following
the body of the message
LIST:
Keywords:
This example would email a list of all RFCs with "Gateway" in
title, or as an assigned keyword, to the requestor. To
information on other ways to 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
MGT Network
OPS Operational
RTG
SAP Service
SEC
TSV
USV User
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 19]
RFC 1539 The Tao of IETF October 1993
:-) 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 U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (now ARPA
DDN U.S. Defense Data
DISA U.S. Defense Information Systems
EGP Exterior Gateway
FAQ Frequently Asked
FARNET Federation of American Research
FIX U.S. Federal Information
FNC U.S. Federal Networking
FQDN Fully Qualified Domain
FYI For Your Information (RFC
GOSIP U.S. 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
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
MIME Multipurpose Internet Mail
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 20]
RFC 1539 The Tao of IETF October 1993
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
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.
RFC1111 Postel, J., "Request for Comments on Request for Comments",
RFC 1111, USC/Information Sciences Institute, August 1989.
RFC1160 Cerf, V., "The Internet Activities Board", RFC 1160, NRI,
1990.
RFC1310 Chapin, L., Chair, "The Internet Standards Process",
1310, 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 1500, Internet Architecture Board, August 1993.
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 21]
RFC 1539 The Tao of IETF October 1993
Security
Security issues are not discussed in this memo
Author's
Gary Scott
Xylogics, Inc
53 Third
Burlington, MA 01803
Phone: (617) 272-8140
EMail: gmalkin@Xylogics.
Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 22]
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
