WGLC: SHOULD and conformance

Up until now, we've had this to say about the status of SHOULDs regarding conformance (p1, "Conformance and Error Handling):

> An implementation is considered conformant if it complies with all of the requirements associated with the roles it partakes in HTTP. Note that SHOULD-level requirements are relevant here, unless one of the documented exceptions is applicable.

After reviewing the specs (and taking in account the misused SHOULDs and those I think should be stronger, see previous messages), I believe that ALL of the remaining SHOULDs in the set are NOT relevant to conformance, but instead  represent implementation guidance. 

So, I propose we change the text above in p1 to:

"""
An implementation is considered conformant if it complies with all of the MUST-level requirements associated with the roles it partakes in HTTP. Note that SHOULD-level requirements are relevant to conformance, but do not formally impact it; instead, they represent implementation guidance.
"""

Thoughts?

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

Received on Tuesday, 30 April 2013 02:26:20 UTC