[ih] "The Internet runs on Proposed Standards"

[Carsten Bormann]

On 2. Dec 2022, at 03:16, Brian E Carpenter via Internet-history <internet-history at elists.isoc.org> wrote:
> 
> In any case, the formal "STD" designation doesn't really mean much.

I don’t quite agree.  This inconspicuous label has helped provide motivation for some significant efforts that led to tremendously improved specifications.
Going to STD is pretty much the only IETF activity that creates legitimate space for considerable reflection.

That said, I’d say that the *absence* of the formal “STD” designation doesn’t really mean much.
The fact that we label our regular-quality specifications “Proposed Standard” is highly misleading to people not familiar with the arcana of the process.
If I were tasked to name the single most damaging self-inflicted feature of the process, this would probably be that label.

Grüße, Carsten