RFC 1718 (rfc1718) - Page 2 of 23


The Tao of IETF - A Guide for New Attendees of the Internet Engineering Task Force



Alternative Format: Original Text Document



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