On Thu, Oct 22, 2015 at 4:12 AM, t.p. <daedulus@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > ---- Original Message ----- > From: "Brian E Carpenter" <brian.e.carpenter@xxxxxxxxx> > To: <ietf@xxxxxxxx> > Sent: Tuesday, October 20, 2015 8:21 PM >> On 20/10/2015 18:58, l.wood@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote: >> ... >> > Drafts were expiring sometime on the 20th of October (in, one > presumes, the US, because no timezone was given, and the IETF is very > much a US organisation. I live in Australia, no timezone for expiry time > given on these emails.) >> >> Agree that stating it precisely in UTC would not be a bad thing, > but... >> >> > So I refreshed the draft ready to do the necessary six-month > accounting. >> >> ...if the only reason to re-post a draft is the expiry, it isn't worth >> reposting, IMHO. In fact it's a bit deceptive: people might think the > draft >> is still under development when it isn't. > > Brian, > > Yes but ... > > For most of the life of the IETF, it has been difficult or impossible to > get hold of an expired draft. At some point, the web site started > making this possible, but I have never seen a commitment to doing so on > into the future; and so many good innovations just vanish, perhaps > because the world at large did not take them on. > > So yes, I would encourage a refresh unless and until it is clearly > stated that the latest version of an I-D, no matter how long ago it was > posted, will remain available in perpetuity, My understanding is that IETF is now committed to keeping the drafts repository data forever unless there is a specific reason to delete specific material (e.g. someone uploads the Windows source file in a draft) The main reason for the change was people like me who take expert witness work, pointing out that we need the drafts repository as valuable source material for our prior art searches. I used it only last month when a plaintiff decided to go looking for hurt with a third party subpoena. I design Internet protocols that are intended to be unencumbered. Consequently, I use twenty year old expired internet drafts in the course of my daily business.