RFC 2717 (rfc2717) - Page 3 of 10


Registration Procedures for URL Scheme Names



Alternative Format: Original Text Document



RFC 2717      Registration Procedures for URL Scheme Names November 1999


2.3 Additional Registration Trees

   From time to time and as required by the community, the IESG may
   create new top-level registration trees.  These trees may require
   significant, little or no registration, and may allow change control
   to rest in the hands of individuals or groups other than IETF.  A new
   tree should only be created if no existing tree can be shown to
   address the set of needs of some sector of the community.

3.0 Requirements for Scheme Name Registration

3.1 General Requirements

   All new URL schemes, regardless of registration tree, MUST conform to
   the generic syntax for URLs as specified in RFC 2396.

3.2 The IETF Tree

   Registration in the IETF tree requires publication of the URL scheme
   syntax and semantics in either an Informational or Standards Track
   RFC. In general, the creation of a new URL scheme requires a
   Standards Track RFC.  An Informational RFC may be employed for
   registration only in the case of a URL scheme which is already in
   wide usage and meets other standards set forth in RFC 2718, such as
   "demonstrated utility" within the Internet Architecture; the IESG
   shall have broad discretion in determining whether an Informational
   RFC is suitable in any given case, and may either recommend changes
   to such document prior to publication, or reject it for publication.
   An Informational RFC purporting to describe a URL scheme shall not be
   published without IESG approval.  This is a departure from practice
   for Informational RFCs as set forth in RFC 2026, for the purpose of
   ensuring that the registration of URL schemes shall serve the best
   interests of the Internet community.

   The NAMES of schemes registered in the IETF tree MUST NOT contain the
   dash (also known as the hyphen and minus sign) character ('-')
   USASCII value 2Dh.  Use of this character can cause confusion with
   schemes registered in alternative trees (see section 3.3).

   An analysis of the security issues inherent in the new URL scheme is
   REQUIRED. (This is in accordance with the basic requirements for all
   IETF protocols.) URL schemes registered in the IETF tree should not
   introduce additional security risks into the Internet Architecture.
   For example, URLs should not embed information which should remain
   confidential, such as passwords, nor should new schemes subvert the
   security of existing schemes or protocols (i.e. by layering or
   tunneling).




Petke & King             Best Current Practice