    Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                 S. Moonesamy, Ed.
    Request for Comments: 7154                                    March 2014
    BCP: 54
    Obsoletes: 3184
    Category: Best Current Practice
    ISSN: 2070-1721

                          IETF Guidelines for Conduct

    Abstract

       This document provides a set of guidelines for personal interaction
       in the Internet Engineering Task Force.  The guidelines recognize the
       diversity of IETF participants, emphasize the value of mutual
       respect, and stress the broad applicability of our work.

       This document is an updated version of the guidelines for conduct
       originally published in RFC 3184.

    Status of This Memo

       This memo documents an Internet Best Current Practice.

       This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
       (IETF).  It represents the consensus of the IETF community.  It has
       received public review and has been approved for publication by the
       Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG).  Further information on
       BCPs is available in Section 2 of RFC 5741.

       Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
       and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
       http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7154.

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    RFC 7154               IETF Guidelines for Conduct            March 2014

    Copyright Notice

       Copyright (c) 2014 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
       document authors.  All rights reserved.

       This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
       Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
       (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
       publication of this document.  Please review these documents
       carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
       to this document.  Code Components extracted from this document must
       include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
       the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
       described in the Simplified BSD License.

       This document may contain material from IETF Documents or IETF
       Contributions published or made publicly available before November
       10, 2008.  The person(s) controlling the copyright in some of this
       material may not have granted the IETF Trust the right to allow
       modifications of such material outside the IETF Standards Process.
       Without obtaining an adequate license from the person(s) controlling
       the copyright in such materials, this document may not be modified
       outside the IETF Standards Process, and derivative works of it may
       not be created outside the IETF Standards Process, except to format
       it for publication as an RFC or to translate it into languages other
       than English.

    1.  Introduction

       The work of the IETF relies on cooperation among a diverse range of
       people with different ideas and communication styles.  The IETF
       strives, through these guidelines for conduct, to create and maintain
       an environment in which every person is treated with dignity,
       decency, and respect.  People who participate in the IETF are
       expected to behave in a professional manner as we work together to
       develop interoperable technologies for the Internet.  We aim to abide
       by these guidelines as we build consensus in person and through email
       discussions.  If conflicts arise, they are resolved according to the
       procedures outlined in RFC 2026 [RFC2026].

       This document obsoletes RFC 3184 [RFC3184], as it is an updated
       version of the guidelines for conduct.

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    RFC 7154               IETF Guidelines for Conduct            March 2014

    2.  Guidelines for Conduct

       1. IETF participants extend respect and courtesy to their colleagues
          at all times.

          IETF participants come from diverse origins and backgrounds; there
          can be different expectations or assumptions.  Regardless of these
          individual differences, participants treat their colleagues with
          respect as persons especially when it is difficult to agree with
          them: treat other participants as you would like to be treated.

          English is the de facto language of the IETF.  However, it is not
          the native language of many IETF participants.  All participants,
          particularly those with English as a first language, attempt to
          accommodate the needs of other participants by communicating
          clearly, including speaking slowly and limiting the use of slang.
          When faced with English that is difficult to understand, IETF
          participants make a sincere effort to understand each other and
          engage in conversation to clarify what was meant.

       2. IETF participants have impersonal discussions.

          We dispute ideas by using reasoned argument rather than through
          intimidation or personal attack.  Try to provide data and facts
          for your standpoints so the rest of the participants who are
          sitting on the sidelines watching the discussion can form an
          opinion.  The discussion is easier when the response to a simple
          question is a polite answer [SQPA].

       3. IETF participants devise solutions for the global Internet that
          meet the needs of diverse technical and operational environments.

          The mission of the IETF is to produce high-quality, relevant
          technical and engineering documents that influence the way people
          design, use, and manage the Internet in such a way as to make the
          Internet work better.  The IETF puts its emphasis on technical
          competence, rough consensus, and individual participation, and it
          needs to be open to competent input from any source.  We
          understand that "scaling is the ultimate problem" and that many
          ideas that are quite workable on a small scale fail this crucial
          test.

          IETF participants use their best engineering judgment to find the
          best solution for the whole Internet, not just the best solution
          for any particular network, technology, vendor, or user.  While we
          all have ideas that may stand improvement from time to time, no
          one shall ever knowingly contribute advice or text that would make
          a standard technically inferior.

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       4. Individuals are prepared to contribute to the ongoing work of the
          group.

          We follow the intellectual property guidelines outlined in BCP 79
          [RFC3979].  IETF participants read the relevant Internet-Drafts,
          RFCs, and email archives in order to familiarize themselves with
          the technology under discussion.  Working Group sessions run on a
          very limited time schedule, and sometimes participants have to
          limit their questions.  The work of the group will continue on the
          mailing list, and questions can be asked and answered on the
          mailing list.  It can be a challenge to participate in a Working
          Group without knowing the history of longstanding Working Group
          debates.  Information about a Working Group including its charter
          and milestones is available on the IETF datatracker site [TRACK]
          or from the Working Group Chair.

    3.  Security Considerations

       The IETF guidelines for conduct do not directly affect the security
       of the Internet.  However, it is to be noted that there is an
       expectation that no one shall ever knowingly contribute advice or
       text that may adversely affect the security of the Internet without
       describing all known or foreseen risks and threats to potential
       implementers and users that they are aware of.

    4.  Acknowledgements

       Most of the text in this document is based on RFC 3184, which was
       written by Susan Harris.  The editor would like to acknowledge that
       this document would not exist without her contribution.  Mike O'Dell
       wrote the first draft of the Guidelines for Conduct, and many of his
       thoughts, statements, and observations are included in this version.
       Many useful editorial comments were supplied by Dave Crocker.
       Members of the POISSON Working Group provided many significant
       additions to the text.

       The editor would like to thank Jari Arkko, Brian Carpenter, Dave
       Cridland, Dave Crocker, Spencer Dawkins, Alan DeKok, Lars Eggert,
       David Farmer, Adrian Farrel, Stephen Farrell, Russ Housley, Eliot
       Lear, Barry Leiba, Ines Robles, Eduardo A. Suarez, Brian Trammell,
       and Sean Turner for contributing towards the improvement of the
       document.

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    RFC 7154               IETF Guidelines for Conduct            March 2014

    5.  References

    5.1.  Informative References

       [RFC2026]  Bradner, S., "The Internet Standards Process -- Revision
                  3", BCP 9, RFC 2026, October 1996.

       [RFC2418]  Bradner, S., "IETF Working Group Guidelines and
                  Procedures", BCP 25, RFC 2418, September 1998.

       [RFC3184]  Harris, S., "IETF Guidelines for Conduct", BCP 54, RFC
                  3184, October 2001.

       [RFC3683]  Rose, M., "A Practice for Revoking Posting Rights to IETF
                  Mailing Lists", BCP 83, RFC 3683, March 2004.

       [RFC3934]  Wasserman, M., "Updates to RFC 2418 Regarding the
                  Management of IETF Mailing Lists", BCP 25, RFC 3934,
                  October 2004.

       [RFC3979]  Bradner, S., Ed., "Intellectual Property Rights in IETF
                  Technology", BCP 79, RFC 3979, March 2005.

       [SQPA]     Perlman, R., "Miss Manners meets the IETF", March 2002,
                  <http://www.ietf.org/proceedings/53/slides/plenary-3/
                  index.html>

       [TRACK]    "The IETF Datatracker Tool", Web Application:
                  <https://datatracker.ietf.org/wg>, Version 5.0.2.

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    Appendix A.  Reporting Transgressions of the Guidelines

       An individual can report transgressions of the guidelines for conduct
       to the IETF Chair or the IESG.

    Appendix B. Consequences of Transgressing the Guidelines

       This document does not discuss measures that can be taken against a
       participant transgressing the guidelines for conduct.

       RFC 2418 [RFC2418] describes a measure where a Working Group Chair
       has the authority to refuse to grant the floor to any individual who
       is unprepared or otherwise covering inappropriate material, or who,
       in the opinion of the Chair, is disrupting the Working Group process.

       RFC 3683 [RFC3683] describes "posting rights" action to remove the
       posting rights of an individual.  RFC 3934 [RFC3934] describes a
       measure through which a Working Group Chair can suspend posting
       privileges of a disruptive individual for a short period of time.

    Appendix C. Changes from RFC 3184

       o  Added text about the IETF striving to create an environment in
          which every person is treated with dignity, decency, and respect.

       o  Added text about contributing advice or text that may affect the
          security of the Internet.

       o  The recommendation that newcomers should not interfere with the
          ongoing process in Section 2 was removed as it can be read as
          discouraging newcomers from participating in discussions.

       o  The text about the goal of the IETF was replaced with text about
          the mission statement and what the IETF puts its emphasis on.

       o  The text about "think globally" was removed as the meaning was not
          clear.

       o  The text about English as a first language was clarified.

       o  The guideline about impersonal discussions was reworded as a
          positive statement.

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    Author's Address

       S. Moonesamy (editor)
       76, Ylang Ylang Avenue
       Quatres Bornes
       Mauritius

       EMail: sm+ietf@elandsys.com

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