How does an Idea become an accepted standard?

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2 total messages Started by Mark Jones Fri, 21 Oct 1988 13:23

#866

Author: Mark Jones
Date: Fri, 21 Oct 1988 13:23

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	I have begun wondering, how does an Idea become a standard?  Who
waves the magic wand, says the magic words "I pronounce the a standard
for the people to implement" and makes the idea become a reality.  My
reason for asking is that I think EGP3 stinks.  It has massive problems,
the EGP3 mailing list group is dead, the authors don't respond to
queries or complaints, and someone (hopefully someone with influence)
needs to be told about the problems.


Mark Jones

Re: How does an Idea become an accepted standard?

#871

Author: Ron Natalie
Date: Sun, 23 Oct 1988 12:52

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EGP3 is been substantially revised since you've probably last seen
it.  I'd reserve the comment "it stinks" until you have actually
built one or two large networks and know what the problems are.

How any idea becomes a standard is that the people spend time working
over it at the Internet Engineering Task Force.  When they have produced
a document that satisfies them, it is sent to Postel to become an RFC.
Postel is the RFC editor and filters out the crud.  I suppose the Internet
Activities Board has final say, but after it's met the watchful eyes of
both Postel and the IETF, then it's probably pretty safe.

The IDEAS directory hasn't been updated recently because it was being
abused.  The major problem is that it was specifically created for
working documents and hair brained ideas so that they could easily be
disseminated and discussed before being cast as standards.  Unfortunately,
people insist on jumping the gun and referencing them as standards even
before they are done.  The problem is that we would like them to get
wide dissemination to people like yourself who would like to comment on
them, but we don't want people either implementing them or specifying
that they be implemented, as it turns out that can cause greater problems
when the revised protocol is finished.

There is an IETF mailing list that you are free to join.  Send mail
to IETF-REQUEST@venera.isi.edu.

-Ron

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