The Tao of IETF - A Guide for New Attendees of the Internet Engineering Task Force
RFC 1718
Document | Type |
RFC - Informational
(November 1994; No errata)
Obsoleted by RFC 3160
Obsoletes RFC 1539
|
|
---|---|---|---|
Author | Gary Malkin | ||
Last updated | 2013-03-02 | ||
Stream | Legacy | ||
Formats | plain text html pdf htmlized bibtex | ||
Stream | Legacy state | (None) | |
Consensus Boilerplate | Unknown | ||
RFC Editor Note | (None) | ||
IESG | IESG state | RFC 1718 (Informational) | |
Telechat date | |||
Responsible AD | (None) | ||
Send notices to | (None) |
Network Working Group IETF Secretariat Request for Comments: 1718 CNRI Obsoletes: 1539, 1391 G. Malkin FYI: 17 Xylogics, Inc. Category: Informational November 1994 The Tao of IETF A Guide for New Attendees of the Internet Engineering Task Force Status of this Memo This memo provides information for the Internet community. It does not specify an Internet standard. Distribution of this memo is unlimited. Abstract Over the last two years, the attendance at Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) plenary meetings has grown phenomenally. Approximately one third 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 wasn't very difficult 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. The purpose of this For Your Information (FYI) RFC is to explain to the newcomers how the IETF works. This will give them a warm, fuzzy feeling and enable them to make the meeting more productive for everyone. This FYI will also provide the mundane bits of information which everyone who attends an IETF meeting should know. On-line Availability Due to the nature of this document, it can become outdated quite quickly. To overcome this problem, a WorldWide Web version has been created that is constantly maintained (the URL is listed below). If you have a WWW client (such as Mosaic), it is suggested that you view the on-line version in lieu of this document. This document will be republished as an FYI RFC every year to year-and-a-half to help those who do not have access to the WorldWide Web. URL for this document: <http://www.ietf.cnri.reston.va.us/tao.html>. URL for IETF: <http://www.ietf.cnri.reston.va.us/home.html>. Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 1] RFC 1718 The Tao of IETF November 1994 Table of Contents Section 1 - The "Fun" Stuff 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" Stuff 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" Stuff 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 group of people who make technical and other contributions to the engineering and evolution of the Internet and its technologies. It is the principal body engaged in the development of new Internet standard specifications. Its mission includes: o Identifying, and proposing solutions to, pressing operational and technical problems in the Internet; Internet Engineering Task Force [Page 2]Show full document text