RFC 2360 (rfc2360) - Page 1 of 20
Guide for Internet Standards Writers
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
Network Working Group G. Scott, Editor
Request for Comments: 2360 Defense Information Systems Agency
BCP: 22 June 1998
Category: Best Current Practice
Guide for Internet Standards Writers
Status of this Memo
This document specifies an Internet Best Current Practices for the
Internet Community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
improvements. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1998). All Rights Reserved.
Abstract
This document is a guide for Internet standard writers. It defines
those characteristics that make standards coherent, unambiguous, and
easy to interpret. In addition, it singles out usage believed to
have led to unclear specifications, resulting in non-interoperable
interpretations in the past. These guidelines are to be used with
RFC 2223, "Instructions to RFC Authors".
Table of Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2 General Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.1 Discussion of Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.2 Protocol Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.3 Target Audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.4 Level of Detail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.5 Change Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.6 Protocol Versions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.7 Decision History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.8 Response to Out of Specification Behavior . . . . . . . . . 6
2.9 The Liberal/Conservative Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.10 Handling of Protocol Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.11 Indicating Requirement Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.12 Notational Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.13 IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.14 Network Management Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.15 Scalability Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.16 Network Stability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.17 Internationalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Scott Best Current Practice