Subject: Re: An Internet Draft as reference material

From: Bob Braden <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 15:37:29 GMT

*> 
  *> "Lee, Jiwoong" wrote:
  *> 	[..]
  *> > 2. A book refers to another Internet Draft.
  *> 
  *> Books will cite material either for attribution (it is
  *> important to many people to acknowledge the originators of
  *> a technical idea or proposal) and/or for followup
  *> reading. I-Ds are referenced in books to provide attribution,
  *> and indirectly provide a title or filename upon which
  *> readers can perform a websearch later (to see if the I-D
  *> became an RFC or happens to be archived somewhere on the
  *> net).

Since Internet Drafts are designed and announced to vanish after
6 months (they even carry their own expiration date!), referencing one
in a book seems to be tacityly admitting that the book will be
worthless after 6 months.  Which, one suspects, is probably true
for most books that reference Internet Drafts.

Bob Braden

  *> 
  *> cheers,
  *> gja
  *> 
  *>

---

From: Grenville Armitage <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 22:20:00 -0700

Bob Braden wrote:
	[..]
> referencing one

Cute, but wrong.

Books highlight (a) the contents of an I-D, and/or (b) the fact
that an I-D ever existed on a topic. It is immaterial whether
the IETF decides, in its wisdom, to progress (or not) a
particular I-D. The book's author makes his/her own decision
whether to acknowledge the (possibly historical) existence of
a document, written by certain people named in the cite, that is
(or was) associated with the topic is being discussed at the
point in the book where the cite is introduced. If the I-D has
since expired, the cite still serves as a beacon identifying
a historical event and the people involved. Sometimes this is
even considered polite.

cheers,
gja