RFC 5540 INFORMATIONAL HISTORY · RFC SERIES
40 Years of RFCs
The RFC Editor marks the 40th birthday of the RFC series and notes what changed in ten years.
RFC EDITOR
RFC Editor, "40 Years of RFCs", RFC 5540, DOI 10.17487/RFC5540, April 2009, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5540>.
BIBTEX
@misc{rfc5540,
series = {Request for Comments},
number = 5540,
howpublished = {RFC 5540},
publisher = {RFC Editor},
doi = {10.17487/RFC5540},
url = {https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5540},
author = {RFC Editor},
title = {{40 Years of RFCs}},
pagetotal = 3,
year = 2009,
month = apr,
} RFC text
Contents
Network Working Group RFC Editor
Request for Comments: 5540 USC/ISI
Category: Informational 7 April 2009
40 Years of RFCs
Status of This Memo
This memo provides information for the Internet community. It does
not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of this
memo is unlimited.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 2009 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
document authors. All rights reserved.
This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
Provisions Relating to IETF Documents in effect on the date of
publication of this document (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info).
Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights
and restrictions with respect to this document.
Abstract
This RFC marks the 40th anniversary of the RFC document series.
1. RFCs and Jon Postel
Forty years ago today, the first Request for Comments document, RFC
1, was published at UCLA [RFC1]. This was the first of a series that
currently contains more than 5400 documents (roughly 160,000 pages)
on computer networking in general and on the Internet protocols in
particular. The RFC series emerged from the US government-funded
research efforts that created the ARPANET and later the Internet.
When the IETF was formed in the mid-1980s, RFCs became the primary
publication vehicle for IETF standards, and thus became centered on
the vendor and user communities.
For the first 29 years, Jon Postel [Postel] was *the* RFC Editor,
until his untimely death in October 1998. Postel, with substantial
help from Joyce K. Reynolds, was responsible for the collection,
editing, online publication, and archiving of the RFC documents.
From 1978 until 1998, Postel was a research scientist at the USC
Information Sciences Institute (USC/ISI) in Marina del Rey,
California. Postel was also the original IANA as well as Director of
the Computer Networks Division at ISI.
Upon the occasion of the 30th anniversary of RFC 1 and as a tribute
to the massive contribution of Jon Postel, the RFC Editor published
RFC 2555 [RFC2555] on April 7, 1999. This RFC contained
recollections from three networking pioneers: Steve Crocker who wrote
RFC 1, Vint Cerf whose long-range vision continues to guide us, and
Jake Feinler who played a key role in the middle years of the RFC
series.
Ten more years have now passed, and we have reached the 40th
anniversary of the RFC series. The series has more than doubled in
size during the last ten years, and it is expected to continue far
into the future. All the good things said in RFC 2555 still hold
true ten years later.
We should, however, note some changes that have occurred over the
past ten years.
o After Jon passed away, Joyce Reynolds and Bob Braden put together
a small organization at USC/ISI to continue the RFC Editor
function. This was motivated by a desire to honor Postel by
continuing his remarkable effort and to provide a service to the
Internet community.
o Funding of the RFC Editor, which had been supported by the US
government until 1998, was taken over by the Internet Society.
During 1998-2006, ISOC funded the RFC Editor under a series of
annual contracts and extensions. ISOC put the function out for
competitive bid for 2007 (USC/ISI was selected to provide RFC
Editor services from 2007-2009), and the contract will be put out
to bid again for post-2009.
During 2009 there will be a significant transition for the RFC
Editor function, as some new organization or set of organizations
takes over this service that has been performed at USC/ISI
continuously since 1978.
o Many improvements have increased the efficiency and transparency
of the RFC editorial process [RFCed09].
o The RFC Editor formed an RFC Editorial Board, a group of people
with broad and deep knowledge of the Internet and networking. One
of its major functions is to assist the RFC Editor by reviewing
RFCs in the Independent Submission stream.
o An email list, rfc-interest@rfc-editor.org, was created to obtain
community input on the RFC Editor functions.
2. Security Considerations
This document does not raise any security issues.
3. Acknowledgments
It has been an honor for USC/ISI to serve the community during the
past 31 years.
4. Informative References
[Postel] "Remembering Jonathan B. Postel",
<http://www.postel.org/remembrances/>.
[RFCed09] Braden, R., Ginoza, S., and A. Hagens, "The RFC Editor
Function at ISI", <http://www.rfc-editor.org/
RFCeditor.at.ISI.pdf>, January 2009.
[RFC1] Crocker, S., "Host Software", RFC 1, April 1969.
[RFC2555] RFC Editor, et al., "30 Years of RFCs", RFC 2555, April
1999.
Author's Address
RFC Editor
EMail: rfc-editor@rfc-editor.org
AI ELI5
On this page
PROBLEMThe RFC series reached its 40th anniversary and the RFC Editor wanted to mark it and record changes since the 30th.
MECHANISMThe memo recalls RFC 1 and Jon Postel, points back to RFC 2555, and lists changes in organization, funding and process.
STATUS TODAYIt is an Informational commemoration with no protocol content, and it is updated by RFC 8700.
§1RFC 1 and Jon Postel
The first RFC, RFC 1, was published at UCLA forty years before the memo's date of 7 April 2009. The series then held more than 5400 documents, roughly 160,000 pages. It emerged from the US government-funded research that created the ARPANET and later the Internet, and became the main publication vehicle for IETF standards after the IETF formed in the mid-1980s.
For the first 29 years, Jon Postel was the RFC Editor, until his death in October 1998, with substantial help from Joyce K. Reynolds. He worked at USC/ISI from 1978 until 1998 and was also the original IANA.
One man looked after the collection of Internet books for 29 years, with help from a colleague.
§1Changes Over Ten Years
RFC 2555 marked the 30th anniversary, and the memo says it still holds true. It notes these changes:
- Joyce Reynolds and Bob Braden formed a small USC/ISI organization to continue the RFC Editor function after Postel died.
- The Internet Society took over funding, which the US government had provided until 1998. USC/ISI was selected for 2007-2009, and 2009 would see a significant transition.
- The editorial process became more efficient and transparent.
- An RFC Editorial Board was formed, which helps review Independent Submission stream RFCs.
- The email list rfc-interest@rfc-editor.org was created for community input.
After the first caretaker died, friends kept the library going, new people paid for it, and a team and a mailing list were added for help and advice.
§2Security and Thanks
The memo says it raises no security issues. In its acknowledgments, USC/ISI says it has been an honor to serve the community for 31 years.
Nothing in it can cause trouble. It ends with a thank you.