intellectual property rights in the context of the development and
   use of Internet Standards.  Section 11 includes acknowledgments of
   some of the people involved in creation of this document.  Section 12
   notes that security issues are not dealt with by this document.
   Section 13 contains a list of numbered references.  Section 14
   contains definitions of some of the terms used in this document.
   Section 15 lists the author's email and postal addresses.  Appendix A
   contains a list of frequently-used acronyms.

2.  INTERNET STANDARDS-RELATED PUBLICATIONS

2.1  Requests for Comments (RFCs)

   Each distinct version of an Internet standards-related specification
   is published as part of the "Request for Comments" (RFC) document
   series.  This archival series is the official publication channel for
   Internet standards documents and other publications of the IESG, IAB,
   and Internet community.  RFCs can be obtained from a number of
   Internet hosts using anonymous FTP, gopher, World Wide Web, and other
   Internet document-retrieval systems.

   The RFC series of documents on networking began in 1969 as part of
   the original ARPA wide-area networking (ARPANET) project (see
   Appendix A for glossary of acronyms).  RFCs cover a wide range of
   topics in addition to Internet Standards, from early discussion of
   new research concepts to status memos about the Internet.  RFC
   publication is the direct responsibility of the RFC Editor, under the
   general direction of the IAB.










 
RFC 2026               Internet Standards Process           October 1996


   The rules for formatting and submitting an RFC are defined in [5].
   Every RFC is available in ASCII text.  Some RFCs are also available
   in other formats.  The other versions of an RFC may contain material
   (such as diagrams and figures) that is not present in the ASCII
   version, and it may be formatted differently.

      *********************************************************
      *                                                       *
      *  A stricter requirement applies to standards-track    *
      *  specifications:  the ASCII text version is the       *
      *  definitive reference, and therefore it must be a     *
      *  complete and accurate specification of the standard, *
      *  including all necessary diagrams and illustrations.  *
      *                                                       *
      *********************************************************

   The status of Internet protocol and service specifications is
   summarized periodically in an RFC entitled "Internet Official
   Protocol Standards" [1].  This RFC shows the level of maturity and
   other helpful information for each Internet protocol or service
   specification (see section 3).

   Some RFCs document Internet Standards.  These RFCs form the 'STD'
   subseries of the RFC series [4].  When a specification has been
   adopted as an Internet Standard, it is given the additional label
   "STDxxx", but it keeps its RFC number and its place in the RFC
   series. (see section 4.1.3)

   Some RFCs standardize the results of community deliberations about
   statements of principle or conclusions about what is the best way to
   perform some operations or IETF process function.  These RFCs form
   the specification has been adopted as a BCP, it is given the
   additional label "BCPxxx", but it keeps its RFC number and its place
   in the RFC series. (see section 5)

   Not all specifications of protocols or services for the Internet
   should or will become Internet Standards or BCPs.  Such non-standards
   track specifications are not subject to the rules for Internet
   standardization.  Non-standards track specifications may be published
   directly as "Experimental" or "Informational" RFCs at the discretion
   of the RFC Editor in consultation with the IESG (see section 4.2).











 
RFC 2026               Internet Standards Process           October 1996


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