Clarifying when Standards Track Documents may Refer Normatively to Documents at a Lower Level
RFC 3967, “Clarifying when Standards Track Documents may Refer Normatively to Documents at a Lower Level”, is a Best Current Practice document published in January 2005 by R. Bush, T. Narten. It has since been updated by RFC 4897, RFC 8067. The canonical text is published by the RFC Editor.
Abstract
IETF procedures generally require that a standards track RFC may not have a normative reference to another standards track document at a lower maturity level or to a non standards track specification (other than specifications from other standards bodies). For example, a standards track document may not have a normative reference to an informational RFC. Exceptions to this rule are sometimes needed as the IETF uses informational RFCs to describe non-IETF standards or IETF-specific modes of use of such standards. This document clarifies and updates the procedure used in these circumstances. This document specifies an Internet Best Current Practices for the Internet Community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements.
What “Best Current Practice” means
Documents the IETF community's recommended operational or procedural practice rather than a protocol specification.
The canonical text of RFC 3967 is hosted at rfc-editor.org. Available in TXT,HTML.
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