Re: Getting the latest version of an RFC specification

[Dave Crocker <[e-mail]>]

On 3/29/2017 8:12 AM, John C Klensin wrote:
>> However "Obsoleted By" means "don't use the old stuff".
> Sadly, while it should, it doesn't.  The community has allowed
> several situations to occur in which a document is obsoleted,


I fear you are overinterpreting the use of what I'm suggesting or are 
conflating tasks.

Anyone who wants to be, or must be, diligent and thorough still can be.

My suggestion is for the folk who want simple, simplistic, basic access 
to 'the most current' spec.  The concerns you raise do not invalidate 
the suggested mechanism's accomplishment of that goal.

Rather, your concerns highlight the bounded scope of that goal, which 
I'll claim was already there -- but it's ok to emphasize it.  One can 
imagine an IETF Surgeon General's warning sign on the banner when the 
'latest' version is displayed, cautioning against excessive inhaling of 
the contents.

So, yes, the concerns you raise are all entirely valid... for someone 
who must dot all the specification i's and cross all the implementation 
ts, but that's not the target audience for the mechanism I'm suggesting.

d/

-- 
Dave Crocker
Brandenburg InternetWorking
bbiw.net