Re: I-D Action:draft-nottingham-http-stale-if-error-01.txt

This extension doesn't authorise serving stale content, it just hints  
that doing so is desired, and explicitly bounds it in time. Clarifying  
the "carefully controlled circumstances" may be in-scope for httpbis,  
but defining the extension for bounding it -- which, with my Yahoo hat  
on, we need -- isn't.

This is covered in the first sentences of the draft.


On 14/05/2008, at 3:33 AM, Roy T. Fielding wrote:

> Upon further review, I see no reason for this extension.
>
>>   In this context, an error is any situation which would result in a
>>   500, 502, 503 or 504 HTTP response status code being returned.
>
>
> 5xx errors are intended to authorize client-side workarounds,  
> including
> the delivery of stale content.  That is, in fact, the only real  
> difference
> between 4xx and 5xx codes.  If this needs to be clarified in the  
> httpbis
> drafts, then it should be an issue on httpbis.
>
> We don't need a cache-control option to authorize what should  
> already be
> authorized by the HTTP status code.
>
> ....Roy


--
Mark Nottingham     http://www.mnot.net/