IESG Statement on Clarifying the Use of BCP 14 Key Words

IESG Secretary <iesg-secretary@ietf.org> Tue, 18 March 2025 03:23 UTC

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From: IESG Secretary <iesg-secretary@ietf.org>
To: IETF Announcement List <ietf-announce@ietf.org>
Subject: IESG Statement on Clarifying the Use of BCP 14 Key Words
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Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2025 20:23:26 -0700
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The IESG has issued a Statement on Clarifying the Use of BCP 14 Key Words.

18 March 2025

Since March 1997, the IETF has relied on BCP 14 for definitions and guidelines for the use of certain key words to specify requirement levels for various normative assertions in technical specifications.  Other standards organizations have also adopted the use of BCP 14 in their specifications.

Notably, BCP 14 recommends these key words be used “sparingly” and mandates they not be used unless they are “actually required for interoperation or to limit behavior which has potential for causing harm.”

Over time, the use of these key words has become less crisp, and they are now used in additional ways in Internet-Drafts.  The IESG provides the following clarifying guidance on the interpretation and use of BCP 14.  However, this guidance is not exhaustive, and other questionable uses of BCP 14 may be identified as documents are processed by the IESG.

Read more: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/statement-iesg-statement-on-clarifying-the-use-of-bcp-14-key-words/

IESG Statement on Clarifying the Use of BCP 14 Ke… IESG Secretary