Gorman, Pierce wrote on 28/04/2021 16:33:
An author can write whatever they like. A WG is free to adopt, or not, whatever I-D is made available to them. An author/editor can write whatever they like. WG members are free to suggest and request substantive and editorial changes to an I-D.
+ notably, a protocol can evolve in parallel with ietf WG drafts. The final written specification may or may not end up converging with production implementations.
Nick
