Re: [newtrk] IESG comments on ISD proposal

[Douglas Otis <[e-mail]>]

On Tue, 2005-05-10 at 09:51 +0200, Brian E Carpenter wrote:

> The first approach is to treat the ISDs as a light-weight replacement
> for the three-level standards track.  The goal would be to make ISDs
> very simple; minimize text in the document and make an ISD little more
> than a collection of links and metadata. This would, in effect, give
> IETF blessing to the realities that the Internet runs mainly on
> Proposed Standards and that the STD series has failed as a
> citation series.

Keep the ISDs effectively as simple meta-glue to guide developers in
understanding currently related documents.  This service would be most
welcome.  Creating automated links to errata and contemporaneous
overviews of these related documents would ensure important information
not escape notice.  The meta-glue should not require an author, nor
alter content of any RFC.

The referenced overview can be a separate process, facilitated by a
meta-glue approach.  Rather than developing a two-tier standards
process, all authoritative information should remain within the RFC.
The overviews, as created and updated, would comment on implementation
experience only.  If there is a desire to alter an RFC, write an RFC.
Such a rule would preserve process clarity.

Unlike the RFC, an overview would be more of a living document, with a
similar nature to that of errata, which notes corrections as discovered.
An overview would document which RFCs and related options are presently
used, and therefore add value to the RFC. These overviews could
effectively play the role of declaring status, but in a less formal
manner.  Having this ISD meta-glue kept a separate effort from errata or
an ongoing overview process, should ensure prompt deployment, while
still offering significant value.

-Doug



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