Re: [spfbis] WG Review: SPF Update (spfbis)

As an early adopter of and participant in SPF, I too support the 
proposed charter to bring RFC4408 from Experimental to Standards Track 
and am willing to assist with inputs where possible and appropriate.

Alan M.

On 12/20/2011 10:18 AM, IESG Secretary wrote:
> A new IETF working group has been proposed in the Applications Area.
> The IESG has not made any determination as yet. The following draft
> charter was submitted, and is provided for informational purposes only.
> Please send your comments to the IESG mailing list (iesg@ietf.org) by
> Tuesday, December 27, 2011
>
> SPF Update (spfbis)
> -----------------------------------------
> Status: Proposed Working Group
> Last Updated: 2011-12-09
>
> Chair(s):
>   TBD
>
> Applications Area Director(s):
>   Pete Resnick<presnick@qualcomm.com>
>   Peter Saint-Andre<stpeter@stpeter.im>
>
> Applications Area Advisor:
>   Pete Resnick<presnick@qualcomm.com>
>
> Mailing Lists:
>   General Discussion:spfbis@ietf.org
>   To Subscribe:	https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/spfbis
>   Archive:	http://www.ietf.org/mail-archive/web/spfbis/
>
> Description of Working Group:
>
> The Sender Policy Framework (SPF, RFC4408) specifies the publication
> of a DNS record which states that a listed IP address is authorized
> to send mail on behalf of the listing domain name's owner.  SMTP
> servers extract the domain name in the SMTP "MAIL FROM" or "HELO"
> command for confirming this authorization.  The protocol has had
> Experimental status for some years and has become widely deployed.
> This working group will revise the specification, based on deployment
> experience and listed errata, and will seek Standards Track status for
> the protocol.
>
> The MARID working group created two specifications for publication of
> email-sending authorization:  Sender-ID (RFFC4405, RFC4406 and RFC4407)
> and SPF (RFC4408), with both having Experimental status.  By using
> IP addresses, both protocols specify authorization in terms of path,
> though unlike SPF, Sender-ID uses domain names found in the header of
> the message rather than the envelope.
>
> The two protocols rely on the same policy publication mechanism,
> namely a specific TXT resource record in the DNS.  This creates a basic
> ambiguity about the interpretation of any specific instance of the TXT
> record.  Because of this, there were concerns about conflicts between
> the two in concurrent operation.  The IESG Note added to each invited
> an expression of community consensus in the period following these
> publications.
>
> Both enjoyed initially large deployments.  Broad SPF use continues,
> and its linkage to the envelope -- rather than Sender-ID's linkage
> to identifiers in the message content -- has proven sufficient among
> operators.  This concludes the experiment.
>
> Changes to the SPF specification will be limited to the correction
> of errors, removal of unused features, addition of any enhancements
> that have already gained widespread support, and addition of
> clarifying language.
>
> The working group will also produce a document describing the
> course of the SPF/Sender-ID experiment (defined in the IESG note
> on the RFCs in question), bringing that experiment to a formal
> conclusion.  No other work on Sender-ID will be done.
>
> Finally, the working group will develop the proposed "scope"
> extension found in draft-mehnle-spfbis-scope.
>
> Specifically out-of-scope for this working group:
>
> * Revisiting past technical arguments that were covered
>    in the MARID working group, except where review is reasonably
>    warranted based on operational experience.
>
> * Discussion of the merits of SPF.
>
> * Discussion of the merits of Sender-ID in preference to SPF.
>
> * Extensions to SPF other than the one specified above.  The
>    working group will re-charter to process other specific proposed
>    extensions as they are identified.
>
> The initial draft set:
> 	draft-kitterman-4408bis
> 	draft-mehnle-spfbis-scope
>
> Goals and Milestones:
>
> MMM YYYY:  A standards track document defining SPF, based on RFC4408 and
>             as amended above, to the IESG for publication.
>
> MMM YYYY:  A document describing the SPF/Sender-ID experiment and its
>             conclusions to the IESG for publication.
>
> MMM YYYY:  A standards track document creating the "scope" extension to
>             the IESG for publication.
>
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