> Date: Thu, 30 Jun 2005 21:12:07 -0400 > From: Jeffrey Hutzelman <jhutz@xxxxxxx> > Message-ID: <D28F9326E3312065397163F7@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> > > | Note that I would consider it entirely reasonable for the IESG to say that > | something "conflicts with work in the IETF" on the grounds that its > | deployment would break the Internet, since preserving the stability of the > | Internet is a fundamental part of _all_ IETF work. > > I cannot agree with that. Preserving the stability of the internet is > the responsibility of the internet operators. There's nothing the IETF > can do, one way or the other, to affect that. Rubbish. IETF can make recommendations to Internet operators, based on its extensive knowledge of how Internet protocols were designed to work and how they tend to be used, and its ability to understand the likely effects of a particular change on Internet stability and interoperability. IETF's recommendations are influential partially because operators recognize the collective expertise of IETF participants and IETF's ability to make sane compromises between competing interests. The recommendations are also influential because even though IETF doesn't always make the best recommendations, there's something to be said for uniformity in operations across the Internet and most operators understand this. (note that I didn't say that operators bow and scrape to follow IETF recommendations, just that the recommendations are influential). in a nutshell: IETF doesn't have control, but it does have influence. Keith _______________________________________________ Ietf@xxxxxxxx https://www1.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf