Editing History of the Internet (section)

===Internet Engineering Task Force===
The [[Internet Engineering Task Force]] (IETF) is the largest and most visible of several loosely related ad-hoc groups that provide technical direction for the Internet, including the [[Internet Architecture Board]] (IAB), the [[Internet Engineering Steering Group]] (IESG), and the [[Internet Research Task Force]] (IRTF).

The IETF is a loosely self-organized group of international volunteers who contribute to the engineering and evolution of Internet technologies. It is the principal body engaged in the development of new Internet standard specifications. Much of the work of the IETF is organized into ''Working Groups''. Standardization efforts of the Working Groups are often adopted by the Internet community, but the IETF does not control or patrol the Internet.<ref name="FYI17">{{cite web |title=The Tao of IETF: A Novice's Guide to the Internet Engineering Task Force |url=https://www.ietf.org/tao.html |author=P. Hoffman |author2=S. Harris |website=ietf.org |date=September 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite ietf |title=A Mission Statement for the IETF |author=H. Alvestrand |rfc=3935 |date=October 2004}}</ref>

The IETF grew out of quarterly meetings with U.S. government-funded researchers, starting in January 1986. Non-government representatives were invited by the fourth IETF meeting in October 1986. The concept of Working Groups was introduced at the fifth meeting in February 1987. The seventh meeting in July 1987 was the first meeting with more than one hundred attendees. In 1992, the [[Internet Society]], a professional membership society, was formed and IETF began to operate under it as an independent international standards body. The first IETF meeting outside of the United States was held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in July 1993. Today, the IETF meets three times per year and attendance has been as high as ca. 2,000 participants. Typically one in three IETF meetings are held in Europe or Asia. The number of non-US attendees is typically ca. 50%, even at meetings held in the United States.<ref name=FYI17/>

The IETF is not a legal entity, has no governing board, no members, and no dues. The closest status resembling membership is being on an IETF or Working Group mailing list. IETF volunteers come from all over the world and from many different parts of the Internet community. The IETF works closely with and under the supervision of the [[Internet Engineering Steering Group]] (IESG)<ref>{{cite ietf |title=An IESG charter |author=H. Alvestrand |rfc=3710 |date=February 2004}}</ref> and the [[Internet Architecture Board]] (IAB).<ref>{{cite ietf |title=Charter of the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) |author=B. Carpenter |rfc= 2850 |date=May 2000}}</ref> The [[Internet Research Task Force]] (IRTF) and the [[Internet Research Steering Group]] (IRSG), peer activities to the IETF and IESG under the general supervision of the IAB, focus on longer-term research issues.<ref name=FYI17/><ref>{{cite ietf |title=IAB Thoughts on the Role of the Internet Research Task Force (IRTF) |author=S. Floyd |author2=V. Paxson |author3=A. Falk |rfc=4440 |date=March 2006}}</ref>

====RFCs====
[[Request for Comments|RFCs]] are the main documentation for the work of the IAB, IESG, IETF, and IRTF.<ref>{{Cite web |title=RFCs |url=https://www.ietf.org/standards/rfcs/ |access-date=2023-11-04 |website=IETF |language=en}}</ref> Originally intended as requests for comments, RFC 1, "Host Software", was written by Steve Crocker at [[UCLA]] in April 1969. These technical memos documented aspects of ARPANET development. They were edited by [[Jon Postel]], the first [[RFC Editor]].<ref name=FYI17/><ref name="RFC4844">{{cite ietf |title=The RFC Series and RFC Editor |author=L. Daigle |rfc=4844 |date=July 2007}}</ref>

RFCs cover a wide range of information from proposed standards, draft standards, full standards, best practices, experimental protocols, history, and other informational topics.<ref>{{cite ietf |title=Not All RFCs are Standards |author=C. Huitema |author2=J. Postel |author3=S. Crocker |rfc=1796 |date= April 1995}}</ref> RFCs can be written by individuals or informal groups of individuals, but many are the product of a more formal Working Group. Drafts are submitted to the IESG either by individuals or by the Working Group Chair. An RFC Editor, appointed by the IAB, separate from IANA, and working in conjunction with the IESG, receives drafts from the IESG and edits, formats, and publishes them. Once an RFC is published, it is never revised. If the standard it describes changes or its information becomes obsolete, the revised standard or updated information will be re-published as a new RFC that "obsoletes" the original.<ref name=FYI17/><ref name=RFC4844/>