On Tue, Jul 30, 2013 at 4:25 PM, Keith Moore
<moore(_at_)network-heretics(_dot_)com>wrote:
On Jul 30, 2013, at 3:23 PM, Noel Chiappa wrote:
The IETF doesn't have a police force, or any enforcement mechanism.
That's true, but people do sometimes cite IETF specifications as
requirements for equipment procurement. And in many cases it is possible
to test equipment for conformance to specifications.
{{citation-needed}} - I've only ever seen specification conformance in
procurement documents for military systems, never for anything else.
And moreover, I suspect that this doesn't matter; the kinds of people
who're procuring, as such - rather than either buying or just living with
what someone else bought - are a tiny minority. Real people, who drive most
of the internet's use, wouldn't know or care if their new router supported
RFC 6592.
Maybe this could be addressed by having a Marketing Label™ to attach to
internet access, in the same way that WiFi™ has helped 802.11a/b/g/n do so
well. I'm pretty sure than if (for example) Skype stamped on its box that
you were recommended to have Halfway Decent™ bandwidth, that an ISP could
start to market their Halfway Decent™ offering, and would be procuring
Halfway Decent™ equipment. And for what it's worth, I'd happily pay -
indeed, do happily pay - a premium to have Halfway Decent™ internet access.
But I'm not sure this is an IETF activity - perhaps an ISOC one though.
Dave.