Changed subject line to avoid further polluting the thread about the style
guide, since this has little to do with it.
From: Abdussalam Baryun
<abdussalambaryun(_at_)gmail(_dot_)com<mailto:abdussalambaryun(_at_)gmail(_dot_)com>>
I don't think the funny RFC is a best practice style.
WG] you’re correct, the April Fools RFCs are not BCPs, or standards. No one
implied otherwise.
One of the important issue of document styles, is the each style purpose or
benefit to all readers. Documents are for readers and mostly new readers. RFCs
should consider new readers, especially the funny RFCs (in some cultures they
may not think that style is funny).
WG] I support the idea of avoiding humor that might be offensive to some
readers, but I’m unaware of anyone offended by the extremely nerdy but IMO
otherwise innocuous humor in an April Fools RFC. I’ll echo comments made
earlier, I want no part in a humorless IETF that is so Serious and Busy Doing
Very Important Things that it can’t make fun of itself.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comic_relief]
In fact, many people who are not active in IETF but familiar with the subject
matter discussed do read and enjoy the humor RFCs.
IMHO , The RFC editor output general style should change to welcome/match more
reader styles. Authors should not do documents without clarifying purpose of
their writing style. Furthermore, editors should motivate their document to
easy readings to understanding.
WG] I do agree that the RFC format could use some work to modernize it, but the
style guide being discussed by this draft is for current RFCs and their
syntax/format, not their technical content or category. A more significant
format change for future RFCs is being tracked in RFC6949, and I think it’s
fair to say that making documents (visually) easier to read via support for
more non-canonical formats is a goal.
However, as is becoming a theme, the information clarifying the purpose is
there (in the boilerplate and the doc status) but you’ve chosen not to use it,
and then expect us to make changes to compensate for that.
The special RFCs are not part of the IETF Stream and they are not an IETF
standard in any way.
You need to tell all possible readers that,
WG] again, we do. See my previous message for an example.
or IETF should work hard to make media know about its special RFC.
WG] I don’t know about letting the media know, but often the documents do get
coverage on tech blogs that track the different April Fools jokes put out by
internet companies like Google, Facebook, and others, as April Fools day has
been embraced more and more as the Internet’s holiday. There’s even a dead tree
edition: http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-April-Fools-RFCs/dp/1573980420 And
a wikipedia article… and >35 years' history of producing them…
I agree that some of these RFCs might be difficult for some readers to
understand.
That is good, so those docs are not making things easy to readers but making it
easy to others to joke or make fun or waste time. Some Readers may not have
time for jokes like the author or editor have. The doc style affect the time
and benefit of reader/writer.
WG] <sarcasm> I apologize on behalf of all of the amateur humorists that have
penned or are considering penning IETF April Fools drafts for wasting your
time. We’ll use TCP next time to make sure you get the joke. </sarcasm>
On a more serious note, learning to quickly parse IETF documents to determine
whether a given draft is “signal” or “noise” (i.e. Relevant to them and their
area of expertise vs not) is a vital tool for participants to learn if they are
to avoid having their time wasted. Not all IETF documents are useful for all
readers (even within a given WG) nor should they be, given IETF’s wide range of
participants and focus areas.
Wes George
Anything below this line has been added by my company’s mail server, I have no
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