Taking a high-tech approach to standards [IETF]

The Internet Engineering Task Force-the primary organization for Internet standards-is experiencing phenomenal growth, which implies a vote of confidence in its approach to standards-making. IETF is similar to the IEEE in that both organizations focus on participation by individual engineers rather than by organizations. Moreover, both organizations strive to ensure that their standards are developed in an open, accessible forum with policies structured to minimize barriers to participation. The IETF compares itself to the IEEE and to other standards-making organizations such as ANSI and ISO while taking pride in the ways in which IETF is unique. One remarkable feature of the IETF standards process is its demand for actual implementations of a standard. In fact, the existence of two independently developed, interoperable implementations of a specification is a firm requirement for the specification to be given draft standard status.