4 ms·

I’ve always wondered, since an RFC is a request for comment, how does one leave a comment? And who?

riffic 2y ago
"request for compliance" is the alternative interpretation.
vandyswa 2y ago
RFC's operate under the IETF. RFC's are developed under some specific group, and you can join that group, the business is generally conducted on email. There are (well, were back when I participated) in-person meetings, but attendance there was not mandatory.
- teddyh 2y ago
  RFC:s are published by the RFC Editor <https://www.rfc-editor.org/ https://www.rfc-editor.org/>. While it’s true that most RFC:s are written and published through the IETF, this is not an actual rule.
staplung 2y ago
A bit of lore that I learned in my networking class in college was that the RFC name was chosen as tongue in cheek in that by the time a proposal gets to the RFC stage, comments are very much not appreciated. You're supposed to comment well before that point. No idea if that bit of lore is true but it is certainly the case that RFCs are usually the final word on the relevant standard. In fact, once they get their ID, RFCs cannot be modified or rescinded; only superseded by another RFC.
- SilasX 2y ago
  Then they should be renamed CFCs (closed for comments).
  - telgareith 2y ago
    But CFCs are banned!
- jaza 2y ago
  Finally I understand why RFCs are served with the Do-Not-Comment header!
- dogleash 2y ago
  That's apocryphal, the name just lasted beyond the original workflow of a now 55 year old publishing system. The idea that a published RFC is a final word is a newer idea too. Yeah, you can't modify an RFC, you have to publish a newer one, but that was a pretty good way of doing distributed change control in 1969.
jowea 2y ago
> The early RFCs were, in fact, requests for comments on ideas and proposals; the goal was to start conversations rather than to create an archival record of a standard or best practice. This goal changed over time, as the formality of the publication process evolved and the community consuming the material grew. Today, over 8500 RFCs have been published, ranging across best practice guidance, experimental protocols, informational material, and, of course, Internet standards. > https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8700.html https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8700.html Nowadays you're supposed to comment before it gets to "Internet standard"
layer8 2y ago
You can submit errata. Maybe it should be renamed to RFE.

"request for compliance" is the alternative interpretation.

RFC's operate under the IETF. RFC's are developed under some specific group, and you can join that group, the business is generally conducted on email. There are (well, were back when I participated) in-person meetings, but attendance there was not mandatory.

teddyh 2y ago
RFC:s are published by the RFC Editor <https://www.rfc-editor.org/ https://www.rfc-editor.org/>. While it’s true that most RFC:s are written and published through the IETF, this is not an actual rule.

staplung 2y ago

A bit of lore that I learned in my networking class in college was that the RFC name was chosen as tongue in cheek in that by the time a proposal gets to the RFC stage, comments are very much not appreciated. You're supposed to comment well before that point. No idea if that bit of lore is true but it is certainly the case that RFCs are usually the final word on the relevant standard. In fact, once they get their ID, RFCs cannot be modified or rescinded; only superseded by another RFC.

SilasX 2y ago
Then they should be renamed CFCs (closed for comments).
- telgareith 2y ago
  But CFCs are banned!
jaza 2y ago
Finally I understand why RFCs are served with the Do-Not-Comment header!
dogleash 2y ago
That's apocryphal, the name just lasted beyond the original workflow of a now 55 year old publishing system. The idea that a published RFC is a final word is a newer idea too. Yeah, you can't modify an RFC, you have to publish a newer one, but that was a pretty good way of doing distributed change control in 1969.

jowea 2y ago

> The early RFCs were, in fact, requests for comments on ideas and proposals; the goal was to start conversations rather than to create an archival record of a standard or best practice. This goal changed over time, as the formality of the publication process evolved and the community consuming the material grew. Today, over 8500 RFCs have been published, ranging across best practice guidance, experimental protocols, informational material, and, of course, Internet standards. > https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8700.html https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8700.html Nowadays you're supposed to comment before it gets to "Internet standard"

layer8 2y ago

You can submit errata. Maybe it should be renamed to RFE.