IETF Logo Mail Archive

Re: [rtcweb] Uppercase question for RFC2119 words

Ole Jacobsen <olejacobsen@me.com> Wed, 30 March 2016 17:24 UTC

Return-Path: <olejacobsen@me.com>
X-Original-To: ietf@ietfa.amsl.com
Delivered-To: ietf@ietfa.amsl.com
Received: from localhost (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by ietfa.amsl.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id EA96312D6E1; Wed, 30 Mar 2016 10:24:57 -0700 (PDT)
X-Virus-Scanned: amavisd-new at amsl.com
X-Spam-Flag: NO
X-Spam-Score: -2.631
X-Spam-Level:
X-Spam-Status: No, score=-2.631 tagged_above=-999 required=5 tests=[BAYES_00=-1.9, RCVD_IN_DNSWL_LOW=-0.7, RCVD_IN_MSPIKE_H4=-0.01, RCVD_IN_MSPIKE_WL=-0.01, SPF_PASS=-0.001, T_RP_MATCHES_RCVD=-0.01] autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no
Received: from mail.ietf.org ([4.31.198.44]) by localhost (ietfa.amsl.com [127.0.0.1]) (amavisd-new, port 10024) with ESMTP id CcRj8Jvz_bJc; Wed, 30 Mar 2016 10:24:55 -0700 (PDT)
Received: from mr11p00im-asmtp003.me.com (mr11p00im-asmtp003.me.com [17.110.69.254]) (using TLSv1.2 with cipher DHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 (128/128 bits)) (No client certificate requested) by ietfa.amsl.com (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 6B75812D814; Wed, 30 Mar 2016 10:24:55 -0700 (PDT)
Received: from [10.1.10.8] (173-11-110-134-SFBA.hfc.comcastbusiness.net [173.11.110.134]) by mr11p00im-asmtp003.me.com (Oracle Communications Messaging Server 7.0.5.36.0 64bit (built Sep 8 2015)) with ESMTPSA id <0O4V001YK4DIN510@mr11p00im-asmtp003.me.com>; Wed, 30 Mar 2016 17:24:55 +0000 (GMT)
X-Proofpoint-Virus-Version: vendor=fsecure engine=2.50.10432:,, definitions=2016-03-30_09:,, signatures=0
X-Proofpoint-Spam-Details: rule=notspam policy=default score=0 spamscore=0 clxscore=1011 suspectscore=0 malwarescore=0 phishscore=0 adultscore=0 bulkscore=0 classifier=spam adjust=0 reason=mlx scancount=1 engine=8.0.1-1510270003 definitions=main-1603300255
Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2016 10:24:53 -0700
From: Ole Jacobsen <olejacobsen@me.com>
To: Pat Thaler <pat.thaler@broadcom.com>
Subject: Re: [rtcweb] Uppercase question for RFC2119 words
In-reply-to: <CAJt_5Eicpb=01uAxRobO9cjUE578_xDacDxnOPO+RZUvyXLhew@mail.gmail.com>
Message-id: <alpine.OSX.2.01.1603301022030.6545@rabdullah.local>
References: <20160320223116.8946.76840.idtracker@ietfa.amsl.com> <949EF20990823C4C85C18D59AA11AD8BADEAFFC7@FR712WXCHMBA11.zeu.alcatel-lucent.com> <CA+9kkMCsT43ZCSdq8gdKXu1k4pJgbf0ab5tE=dDiFfrTT2gtkA@mail.gmail.com> <949EF20990823C4C85C18D59AA11AD8BADEB0D16@FR712WXCHMBA11.zeu.alcatel-lucent.com> <56F79D05.8070004@alvestrand.no> <326E6502-28E5-4D09-BB99-4A5D80625EB0@stewe.org> <56F88E18.2060506@it.aoyama.ac.jp> <20160328104731.GO88304@verdi> <CALaySJ+hYMMsKE7Ws-NJbyqH55E-mQM-duTEcJGc0TWvTP88Ew@mail.gmail.com> <20160328132859.GP88304@verdi> <28975138-9EA1-4A9F-A6C0-BC1416B8EA44@sobco.com> <CALaySJJkNj2jfm0gJpuDzq8oFDjTNn-uQ5MHdmEOLwTiFZUyQQ@mail.gmail.com> <56FBDE33.5000706@nostrum.com> <56FBE3F2.10507@dcrocker.net> <CAKHUCzyhUwxvk3sQzZGHHZf-vh8B9wtp4DQ9qRcJ0sdi3o1UNw@mail.gmail.com> <56FC0441.5090207@nostrum.com> <CAJt_5Eicpb=01uAxRobO9cjUE578_xDacDxnOPO+RZUvyXLhew@mail.gmail.com>
User-Agent: Alpine 2.01 (OSX 1266 2009-07-14)
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset="US-ASCII"
Archived-At: <http://mailarchive.ietf.org/arch/msg/ietf/WII0rxnSEx8nbgdrtJJZOo91aII>
Cc: IETF discussion list <ietf@ietf.org>, "Heather Flanagan (RFC Series Editor)" <rse@rfc-editor.org>, "rtcweb@ietf.org" <rtcweb@ietf.org>, IESG <iesg@ietf.org>, Barry Leiba <barryleiba@computer.org>, Dave Crocker <dcrocker@bbiw.net>
X-BeenThere: ietf@ietf.org
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.17
Precedence: list
Reply-To: Ole Jacobsen <olejacobsen@me.com>
List-Id: IETF-Discussion <ietf.ietf.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <https://www.ietf.org/mailman/options/ietf>, <mailto:ietf-request@ietf.org?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <https://mailarchive.ietf.org/arch/browse/ietf/>
List-Post: <mailto:ietf@ietf.org>
List-Help: <mailto:ietf-request@ietf.org?subject=help>
List-Subscribe: <https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf>, <mailto:ietf-request@ietf.org?subject=subscribe>
X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2016 17:24:58 -0000

On Wed, 30 Mar 2016, Pat Thaler wrote:

> "must" has multiple meanings - it can indicate a requirement but it also
> can be used to state the inevitable: e.g., "What goes up must come down."
> 
> Though in general, I'm not a fan of writing in all caps, "MUST" removes the
> ambiguity indicating that it is to be understood as defined, rather than
> having its regular English meaning.
> 
> All caps for the words also helps the requirement statements stand out when
> scanning through a document.
> 

+1

A few years ago I stayed in a B&B in England. The owner asked me: "Do 
you require toast in the morning?" This particular use of "require"
is not commonly used in the US (at least not on the West Coast) unless
toast is some kind of medical substance.

All of which goes to show that words have different meaning and also 
different USAGE, often location-based.

Ole

v2.23.0 | Report a Bug | By Email