On 6/24/13 2:08 PM, Dave Crocker wrote: > On 6/24/2013 12:52 PM, Peter Saint-Andre wrote: >> 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. > > > I suspect you are wrong... > > In your implication that there is /any/ meaningful distinction made by > native English speakers when reading an RFC... > > For the times I've seen the different words used normatively in RFC, I > have not discerned any semantic difference. I agree. (It would have been better for me to say "subtle differences, if any".) I'm open to an argument that in standard English "should" has a shade of obligation and "recommended" has a shade of suggestion, but in practice (especially in RFCs) those shades are lost. Peter -- Peter Saint-Andre https://stpeter.im/