RFC, Request For Comments

RFC memorandums are generally published by engineers and computer experts of the Internet Society. They may be submitted for peer review or to introduce new concepts, information or protocols to the internet. Many RFCs are published by the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) as Internet Standards. RFCs can be viewed as a consistent historical record regarding the evolution of Internet Standards. An RFC document is assigned a unique serial number by an RFC Editor. Once identified and published, it may never be modified or rescinded. If the RFC requires amendments, a revised document is published, making the previous document obsolete. The production of an RFC document differs from the standardized process of formal standard organizations in which a document may be submitted as an internet draft without support or approval from an external institution. In order to be published, standard-track RFCs must receive approval from the IETF. They are then published as an internet draft and endure a series of stages before the documents mature into an RFC and become an Internet Standard.