RFC - 3160

The Tao of IETF - A Novice's Guide to the Internet Engineering Task Force

Original:	ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc3160.txt
Authors:	S. Harris []
Date:	August 2001
Category:	For Your Information: [ FYI-17 ]
This specification has been !!! obsoleted !!!

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Obsoleted by:
RFC-4677fyi17	The Tao of IETF - A Novice's Guide to the Internet Engineering Task Force

Obsoletes:
RFC-1718	The Tao of IETF - A Guide for New Attendees of the Internet Engineering Task Force (Obsoleted by RFC-3160fyi17 -> RFC-4677fyi17)

Referred by:	4 RFC
Refers to:	13 RFC

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Status

This memo provides information for the Internet community. It does not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2001). All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

This document describes the inner workings of IETF meetings and Working Groups, discusses organizations related to the IETF, and introduces the standards process.

Introduction

Over the last several years, attendance at Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) face-to-face meetings has grown phenomenally. Many of the attendees are new to the IETF at each meeting, and many of those go on to become regular attendees. When the meetings were smaller, it was relatively easy for a newcomer to get into the swing of things. Today, however, a newcomer meets many more new people, some previously known only as the authors of documents or thought- provoking e-mail messages.

This document describes many aspects of the IETF, with the goal of explaining to newcomers how the IETF works. This will give them a warm, fuzzy feeling and enable them to make the meeting and the Working Group discussions more productive for everyone.

Of course, it's true that many IETF participants don't go to the face-to-face meetings at all. Instead, they're active on the mailing list of various IETF Working Groups. Since the inner workings of Working Groups can be hard for newcomers to understand, this FYI provides the mundane bits of information that newcomers will need in order to become active participants.

Many types of IETF documentation are mentioned in the Tao, from BCPs to RFCs and FYIs. (BCPs make recommendations for Best Current Practices in the Internet; RFCs are the IETF's main technical documentation series, politely known as "Requests for Comments;" and FYIs provide topical and technical overviews that are introductory or appeal to a broad audience. See Section 6 for more information.)

The acronyms and abbreviations used in this document are usually expanded in place, and are explained fully in Section 9.

Acknowledgements

The original version of this document, published in 1994, was written by Gary Malkin. His knowledge of the IETF, insights, and unmatched writing style set the standard for this later revision, and his contributions to the current draft are also much appreciated. Paul Hoffman wrote significant portions of this revision and provided encouragement, expertise, and much-needed guidance. Other contributors include Scott Bradner, Michael Patton, Donald E. Eastlake III, the IETF Secretariat, and members of the User Services Working Group.

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