The internal workings of the Internet are defined by a set of
documents called RFCs (Request for Comments). The general process
for creating an RFC is for someone wanting something formalized to
write a document describing the issue and mailing it to Jon Postel
(postel@isi.edu). He acts as a referee for the proposal. It is then
commented upon by all those wishing to take part in the discussion
(electronically, of course). It may go through multiple revisions.
Should it be generally accepted as a good idea, it will be assigned a
number and filed with the RFCs.
The RFCs can be divided into five groups: required, suggested,
directional, informational and obsolete. Required RFCs (e.g.,
RFC-791, The Internet Protocol) must be implemented on any host
connected to the Internet.
Suggested RFCs are generally implemented by network hosts. Lack of
them does not preclude access to the Internet, but may impact its
usability. RFC-793, Transmission Control Protocol, is a must for
those implementing TCP.
Directional RFCs were discussed and agreed to, but their application
has never come into wide use. This may be due to the lack of wide
need for the specific application (RFC-937, The Post Office Protocol) or
that, although technically superior, ran against other pervasive
approaches (RFC-891, Hello). It is suggested that, should the facility
be required by a particular site, an implementation be done in
accordance with the RFC. This ensures that, should the idea be one
whose time has come, the implementation will be in accordance with
some standard and will be generally usable.
Informational RFCs contain factual information about the Internet and
its operation (RFC-990, Assigned Numbers).
There is also a subset of RFCs called FYIs (For Your Information).
They are written in a language much more informal than that used in
the other, standard RFCs. Topics range from answers to common
questions for new and experienced users to a suggested bibliography.
Finally, as the Internet has grown and technology has changed, some
RFCs become unnecessary. These obsolete RFCs cannot be ignored,
however. Frequently when a change is made to some RFC that causes a
new one to obsolete others, the new RFC only contains explanations and
motivations for the change. Understanding the model on which the
whole facility is based may involve reading the original and
subsequent RFCs on the topic.
RFCs and FYIs are available via FTP from many sources, including:
The nic.ddn.mil archive, as /rfc/rfc-xxxx.txt, where
xxxx is the number of the RFC.
from ftp.uu.net, in the directory /RFC.
They're also available through mail by writing to
service@nic.ddn.mil, with a Subject: line of send RFC-xxxx.TXT, again
with xxxx being the RFC number.
"Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we
know where we can find information upon it."
Samuel Johnson
Letter to Lord Chesterfield
February, 1755
a book of quotes said April 18, 1775 .. the book of Johnson's works
said it's 1755; I'll go with the latter.
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Conclusion
This guide is far from complete---the Internet changes on a daily (if
not hourly) basis. However, this booklet should provide enough
information to make the incredible breadth and complexity of the
Internet a mite less imposing. Coupled with some exploration and
experimentation, every user has the potential to be a competent net
citizen, using the facilities that are available to their fullest.
You, the reader, are strongly encouraged to suggest improvements to
any part of this booklet. If something was unclear, left you with
doubts, or wasn't addressed, it should be fixed. If you find any
problems, inaccuracies, spelling errors, etc., please report them to:
Brendan Kehoe
Department of Computer Science
Widener University
Chester, PA 19013
Internet: guide-bugs@cs.widener.edu
UUCP: ...!widener!guide-bugs
If you are interested in future updates to this guide (aside from
normal new editions), discussion about information to be included or
removed, etc., write to guide-request@cs.widener.edu to be placed on
a mailing list for such things.
@dots is actually `. . . .'
"I've seed de first an de last @dots I seed de beginnin,
en now I sees de endin."
William Faulkner
The Sound & The Fury
April 8, 1928
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