“Internet standards are pivotal to making the Net work. But
there’s a huge gap between Internet software engineers, who
would never confuse RFC 821 with RFC 822, and the rest of us, who
aren’t necessarily even sure what “RFC” stands for.”
“An RFC is a “Request For Comments” from the Internet
Engineering Task Force, or IETF. The IETF is an international
organization founded in 1986 as (in its own words) “a loosely
self-organized group of people who make technical and other
contributions to the engineering and evolution of the Internet and
its technologies.” IETF membership is open to anyone who
participates.”