On Jun 24, 2013, at 10:52 PM, Peter Saint-Andre <stpeter@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > On 6/24/13 1:47 PM, Michael Thornburgh wrote: >> my feeling and belief is that RFC 2119 only gives SHOULD and >> RECOMMENDED the same normative requirement level, but that it does >> not override or change the distinct meanings of these words in >> English. sentences using each of these terms have different meanings >> in English, even when those sentences appear in RFCs. > > I expect that the subtle differences between these words are lost on > non-native speakers, and even most native speakers, of English. I'd be > genuinely curious to hear that you think the distinct meanings are. > "It is RECOMMENDED that implementations send the AUTH_LIFETIME notification at least 4 minutes before the SA is to be deleted, to facilitate the user entering credentials in time." "The implementation SHOULD send the AUTH_LIFETIME notification at least 4 minutes before the SA is to be deleted, to facilitate the user entering credentials in time." - What are the subtle differences in meaning between these two sentences? - Would an implementation written by a native speaker be any different depending on which of the above sentences was in the RFC? Yoav