The IETF produces rules that govern how networking programs are written.
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is an not-for-profit agency which sponsors networking and Internet standards. These standards are published as "open" protocols. This means they are free to anyone who wants to read them.
Organization
The IETF is a division of the Internet Society. It is a forum and its membership is open to the public. Anyone can submit new protocols to the IETF for sponsorship. Any protocol under development is assigned to a working group. A working group covers an area of specialization in networking. All committee members work for free, on the basis that their employers will allocate time to IETF work. The contributors and committee members are all identified, along with their employing company. This gives the employer kudos.
Processes
Most communications of the IETF are carried out by mailing list. A proposal for a new protocol is submitted to the appropriate working group and distributed to opt-in lists of interested parties. These proposals are called "Internet Drafts" and must follow a format laid down by the IETF.
Publication
Internet Drafts are considered. The public are encouraged to challenge or suggest enhancements. These alterations are organized by RFC Editor. "RFC" means "Request for Comments." An accepted proposal for a protocol is given a sequence number and called "RFC 9999," where "9999" represents the next available number in the sequence.
