Re: Registration (was Re: DRAFT Minutes, HTTP-WG)

On Wed, 13 Dec 1995, Larry Masinter wrote:

> > There is a well established system for content-type which involves posting
> > information to the ietf-types mailing list.  This gives the interested
> > community a chance to comment on it and it can get registered after
> > comments have been incorporated or died down unless there seems to be
> > a consensus against it.
> 
> You must be unaware of the controversy that has and continues to
> surround the media type registration mechanism. To pick just one of a

I'm aware there is controversy but despite that, it seems to work
pretty well.  I would say the IETF is full of controvery and some
think the output is bad but it seems to be better than all other
standards bodies in its area.

> dozen controversial cases, there is a group that wishes to define a
> new top-level type "chemical" so that they can define a large number
> of "chemical/*" types.

You must be unaware that there was a strong consensus that adding new
top level type was a big deal and the ietf-types list was really set
up for registering subtypes.  The chemical/* type seems to have been
merged with a number of other ideas and subsumed into a model/* top
level type which is more likely to succeed.

> I might feel differently if there were a group of individuals willing
> to work on this issue and also knowledgable both about HTTP and about
> the history, status, and difficulties with the registration procedures
> for protocol extensions in other Internet protocols (SMTP, SNMP, media
> types, Telnet options, ...).

Seems to me that you believe unless there are exact and precise rules
for everything, then there is a "problem".  I don't see it that way.

Unless there are rules to the contrary, IANA is in charge of allocating
/ registering most everything in IETF standards.

Donald
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Received on Wednesday, 13 December 1995 20:14:38 UTC