Editing Internet Engineering Task Force

== Overview ==

The '''[http://www.ietf.org/ Internet Engineering Task Force]''' ('''IETF''') is a purely voluntary, technical [[standard-setting organization]] responsible for developing and maintaining the [[Internet]]’s core [[standard]]s, including the [[DNS protocol]] and its [[security]] extensions and the current and next-generation versions of the [[Internet Protocol]]. The core [[standard]]s the IETF develops define, on a basic level, how the [[Internet]] operates and what functions it is capable of performing. It is a voluntary, consensus-based [[standard]]s body, whose participants include [[network operator]]s, academics, and representatives of government and industry, among others. 

[[Internet user]]s express their opinions on how the [[Internet]] should operate to the IETF. Much of IETF’s work is conducted via [[e-mail]] lists, although it meets three times a year to discuss the [[Internet]]'s operational and technical problems. If a problem deserves special attention, the IETF sets up a working group to discuss it. The working group eventually issues a report or recommendation, which can be either voluntarily accepted by the IETF or sent to the [[Internet Architecture Board]] ([[IAB]]) to be declared a [[standard]].

The work of the IETF is coordinated by the [[Internet Engineering Steering Group]] ([[IESG]]) and the [[IAB]] which are affiliated with the [[Internet Society]].

Among the key technical standards the [[IETF]] has worked on is the next generation of the [[Internet Protocol]] ([[IP]]), the foundation of the [[Internet]] &mdash; [[IP Version 6]] ([[IPv6]]).

== Guiding principles ==

The IETF adheres to a number of principles:

* '''Open process.''' Any interested person can participate in the work, know what is being decided, and make his or her voice heard on an issue. All IETF [[document]]s, [[mailing list]]s, attendance lists, and meeting minutes are publicly available on the [[Internet]].
* '''Technical competence.''' The issues addressed in IETF-produced [[document]]s are issues that the IETF has the competence to speak to, and the IETF is willing to listen to technically competent input from any source. The IETF's technical competence also means that IETF output is designed to sound [[network engineering]] principles, an element often referred to as "engineering quality."
* '''Volunteer core.''' IETF participants and leaders are people who come to the IETF because they want to do work that furthers IETF's mission of "making the Internet work better."
* '''Rough consensus and running code.''' The IETF makes [[standard]]s based on the combined [[engineering]] judgment of its participants and their [[real-world]] experience in [[implement]]ing and [[deploy]]ing its [[specification]]s.
* '''Protocol ownership.''' When the IETF takes ownership of a [[protocol]] or function, it accepts the responsibility for all aspects of the [[protocol]], even though some aspects may rarely or never be seen on the [[Internet]]. Conversely, when the IETF is not responsible for a [[protocol]] or function, it does not attempt to exert control over it, even though such a [[protocol]] or function may at times touch or affect the [[Internet]].

== Source ==

* "Overview" section: [[Cyberspace: United States Faces Challenges in Addressing Global Cybersecurity and Governance]], at 14.
* "Guiding principle" section: [http://www.ietf.org IETF Web site.]

== External resources ==

* "The Tao of IETF: A Novice's Guide," RFC 3160 (Aug. 2001) ([https://axess2.stanford.edu/a2kprd76ha/user/campnet/cn_frameset.asp full-text]).
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[[Category:Internet]]
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