[ih] This Review is for Everyone

[Vint Cerf]

IETF spun out of government-sponsored IAB, as you all know. It eventually
had supporting structure such as the secretariat which was itself funded
for a time by NSF through CNRI. When NSF funding went away, ISOC was formed
with the help of CNRI as a non-profit that could support IETF among other
things. Support for IETF was high in my mind at the time and was my major
motivation, anyway, for promoting ISOC's creation.

As time has passed, there have emerged needs for legal entities to be
created to hold intellectual property, provide operational support, protect
IETF participants from legal risks, etc. Given the level of activity, it
would be hard for IETF to function without the support of these entities.

v


On Thu, Mar 12, 2026 at 4:15 PM Brian E Carpenter via Internet-history <
internet-history at elists.isoc.org> wrote:

> So, I'm sticking to my guns. It's IETF LLC which now gets financial
> support from ISOC; before IETF LLC existed, IETF monies were managed by an
> ISOC employee. In neither case were IETF participants (including the IETF
> Chair) in any formal way identified as members or part of or employed by an
> incorporated entity. So the IETF isn't a legal entity, actually.
>
> Regards/Ngā mihi
>     Brian
>
> On 13-Mar-26 08:11, Andrew Sullivan via Internet-history wrote:
> > Dave,
> >
> > I did not say that, as I think you know perfectly well. I also think
> it’s tiresome (not to say rude) to make your interlocutors routinely need
> to point out a straw person.
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > A
> > —
> > Andrew Sullivan
> > Please excuse my clumbsy thums
> >
> >> On Mar 12, 2026, at 12:40, Dave Crocker <dhc at dcrocker.net> wrote:
> >> On 3/12/2026 9:28 AM, Andrew Sullivan via Internet-history wrote:
> >>> Like it or not, all the legal existence of the IETF is subordinate to
> the Internet Society.
> >>
> >>
> >> Ahh.  So the IETF did not exist before ISOC.  And if ISOC disappeared,
> so would the IETF.
> >>
> >> Good to know.
> >>
> >> d/
> >>
> >> --
> >> Dave Crocker
> >>
> >> dhc at dcrocker.net
> >> bluesky: @dcrocker.bsky.social
> >> mast: @dcrocker at mastodon.social
> >> +1.408.329.0791 <(408)%20329-0791>
> >>
> >> Volunteer, Silicon Valley Chapter
> >> Northern California Coastal Region
> >> Information & Planning Coordinator
> >> American Red Cross
> >> dave.crocker2 at redcross.org
> >
> --
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