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Just because it's an ID doesn't mean anything at all (ietf.org)
27 points by bluedays on Jan 27, 2022 | hide | past | favorite | 5 comments



note: ID in this context stands for Internet-Draft.

> All too often one reads something in the press, or some ravings on a mailing list that reference some Internet Draft, that claim that "the IETF thinks that XXX" or that the ID is an IETF document, and so represents support by the IETF.

...

> So, here is an Internet Draft. I wrote it. It's full of nonsense.

---

Do read this, it's a really fun read :D

The "Background" section starts as follows:

> Pyramids are good for sharpening razor blades. The ancient Egyptians had a major problem - wearing a big, bushy beard in the desert is uncomfortable. Unfortunately the safely razor hadn't been invented yet, and so they all had to use straight razors. Additionally, camel leather makes a very poor strop, hippopotamus leather was reserved for the pharaohs and crocodile leather, while suitable, had the unfortunate property of being wrapped around crocodiles.


Let's upgrade this to an IETF standard. Who writes the 2 different implementations of the protocol?

Come to think of it, sending the ID string to TCP port 7 on compliant devices will return the ID string back, demonstrating successful exchange of ID strings. So there already are multiple different implementations.


>Who writes the 2 different implementations of the protocol?

You mean the "routing protocol" or the "routing protocol" pronounced with a funny accent?

>In order to clearly differentiate these terms we assign the ordinal 98 to be "routing protocols" and 0x62 to be "routing protocols" (but pronounced with a funny accent). Protocols incapable of encoding 0x62 should use the string "My hovercraft is full of eels", a suitable translation of this phrase, or the ordinal 1.


Wow. Just... wow.

Seriously laughing out loud. No, it doesn't have much useful content, but I recommend that you take the time to read it anyway.


> Just because it's an ID doesn't mean anything... at all...

It's to use ID, widely used as short form for identification, part of the joke? I'm missing something.

Enough characters to add "... at all..." thinks that to specify Internet-Draft its too much.




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