How to pay $47 for a copy of RFC 793

I just discovered an astonishing example of misinformation, shall we say, in the IEEE electric power community. There is an IEEE standards document C37.118, entitled (you don't care) "IEEE Standard for Synchrophasors for Power Systems C37-118(TM)-2005", which is currently of great importance for the instrumentation of the national power grid. I just noticed that it references RFC 793, and for curiosity looked to see how it was referenced. I found:

   [B8] RFC 793-1981,Transmission Control Protocol DARPA Internet Program Protocol Specification.[12]

OK so far, except maybe for the DARPA part. Now look at footnote 12:

   12   RFC standards are available from Global Engineering Documents, 15 Inverness Way East, Englewood, CO 80112, USA (http://global.ihs.com/).

Going to that web site, you find:

RFC 793 - Complete Document

Revision / Edition: 81    Chg:    Date: 09/00/81  

TRANSMISSION CONTROL PROTOCOL DARPA INTERNET PROGRAM PROTOCOL SPECIFICATION 

Comments:
Superseding Document:
Page Count:	90
In Stock:	Yes
Hardcopy Price:	$ 47.00

and:

Customers who purchased RFC 793 have also purchased
	EIA-748 : EARNED VALUE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
	IETF RFC 2460 : INTERNET PROTOCOL, VERSION 6 (IPV6) SPECIFICATION
	RFC 768 : USER DATAGRAM PROTOCOL
	RFC 791 : INTERNET PROTOCOL DARPA INTERNET PROGRAM PROTOCOL SPECIFICATION

Now, it has always been IETF's (and even before there was an IETF, Jon Postel's) policy to allow people to sell RFCs. What astonishes me is that clever people in the IEEE don't know RFCs are available free online. I guess RFCs remain so counter-cultural that industrial types don't get it. I wonder how many other IEEE standards contain similar RFC-for-pay references..

Bob Braden

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