Simon, On 28-Apr-21 21:54, Simon Josefsson wrote: > Brian E Carpenter <brian.e.carpenter@xxxxxxxxx> writes: > >> I don't what made this click in my brain now rather than 20 years ago, >> but think about this extract from our I-D boilerplate**: >> >> "Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering >> Task Force (IETF). Note that other groups may also distribute working >> documents as Internet-Drafts." >> >> That's actually internally inconsistent and if the first sentence is >> quoted without the second, it is actively misleading when (say) an >> IRTF draft is concerned. >> >> Shouldn't those two sentences be combined into a more accurate single sentence?: >> >> Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task >> Force (IETF) or of other associated groups or individuals. >> >> **The exact wording of the boilerplate has changed since 20 years ago, but the problem has always existed. > > Sometimes the solution to a problem isn't to add or modify something, it > is to take away something. I suggest to drop this paragraph instead. > > As far as I can tell, the I-D boilerplate is something like the text > below. If BCP78/BCP79, including their normative references, do not > contain sufficient information to explain this, I believe it is better > to solve whatever the problem is there. Further, the third paragraph > about expiration is covered already by the normative reference to RFC > 2026 section 2.2. > > Repeating things in different words can clarify, but it can also make > things harder to understand when subtle differences creep in, as it > appears to have done here. That's true, but the people we are most concerned about when they misinterpret the boilerplate (e.g. tech journalists) are highly unlikely to read BCP78/BCP79 and, if they were to read BCP9 (RFC2026), they would recoil in horror. So IMHO this boilerplate is essential. That's why I was so annoyed with myself for not noticing the internal inconsistency 20 years ago. Brian > > Status of This Memo > > This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the > provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79. > > Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering > Task Force (IETF). Note that other groups may also distribute > working documents as Internet-Drafts. The list of current Internet- > Drafts is at https://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/. > > Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months > and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any > time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference > material or to cite them other than as "work in progress." > > This Internet-Draft will expire on 16 September 2021. > > /simon >
