Re: Alternative Proposal for Two-Stage IETF Standardization

[Dave CROCKER <[e-mail]>]

Folks,

On 11/11/2010 12:25 PM, Dave CROCKER wrote:
> To establish the base: It is not possible to achieve widespread use on the
> Internet without having multiple components interacting. That's called
> interoperability.
>
> However, the interoperability might be among components that are clones of a
> single code base.
>
> So our language needs to be enhanced to cover multiple implementations. And as
> long as the language hood is up, we might as well put in a turbo-booster that
> asserts the higher octane 'interoperability' word.


A hallway conversation with Russ added an item that simply had not occurred to me:

    There might be multiple implementations that rely on on undocumented 
modifications of the spec.  This means that an additional, interoperable 
implementation cannot be made purely from the specification.

Again, I believe the requirement for the document is "merely" to get the wording 
right.  I do not believe any of us differ on the actual meaning we are trying to 
achieve.  That is, I have not seen anything that indicates we have disparity 
about the intended requirement.

Test language: (*)

      (Full) Internet Standard:

      The Internet community achieves rough consensus -- on using
      the multiple, independent implementations of a specification

and

      3.3.  [Full] Internet Standard (IS)

      This is the existing final standards status, based on attainment of
      significant community acceptance, as demonstrated by use of multiple,
      independent implementations that conform to the specification.

d/

ps.  I just realized that the original language that Russ cited said "on using 
the running code of a specification".  "Of a specification" explicitly means 
that the stuff that is running is the spec and, therefore, can't really mean 
that it's using hallway agreements.  (However I think it's dandy to make the 
Section 3.3 language bullet-proofed against creative misunderstanding.)

(*) This is just from me; it hasn't been vetted with my co-authors.

-- 

   Dave Crocker
   Brandenburg InternetWorking
   bbiw.net