Status of This Memo

This memo documents an Internet Best Current Practice.¶

This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). It represents the consensus of the IETF community. It has received public review and has been approved for publication by the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG). Further information on BCPs is available in Section 2 of RFC 7841.¶

Information about the current status of this document, any errata, and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained athttps://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9245.¶

Copyright Notice

Copyright (c) 2022 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the document authors. All rights reserved.¶

This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal Provisions Relating to IETF Documents (https://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of publication of this document. Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect to this document. Code Components extracted from this document must include Revised BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as described in the Revised BSD License.¶

This document may contain material from IETF Documents or IETF Contributions published or made publicly available before November 10, 2008. The person(s) controlling the copyright in some of this material may not have granted the IETF Trust the right to allow modifications of such material outside the IETF Standards Process. Without obtaining an adequate license from the person(s) controlling the copyright in such materials, this document may not be modified outside the IETF Standards Process, and derivative works of it may not be created outside the IETF Standards Process, except to format it for publication as an RFC or to translate it into languages other than English.¶

Table of Contents

1.Introduction

The IETF discussion list[IETF-DISCUSS] furthers the development andspecification of Internet technology through the general discussion oftechnical, procedural, operational, and other topics for which no dedicatedmailing lists exist. As this is the most general IETF mailing list,considerable latitude in terms of topics is allowed. However, there are postsand topics that are unsuitable for this mailing list. This document defines thecharter for the IETF discussion list and explains its scope.¶

The IETF Note Well[NOTE-WELL] applies to discussions on the IETF discussionlist and all other IETF mailing lists, and requires conformance with the IETFGuidelines for Conduct[RFC7154] and the Anti-Harassment Policy[RFC7776],among others.¶

This document obsoletes[RFC3005], as it documents the use of other mailinglists for discussions that were previously in scope for the IETF discussion list,refers to applicable policies such as the Guidelines for Conduct[RFC7154] and the Anti-Harassment Policy[RFC7776], and clarifiesmoderation procedures. It also updates part ofSection 1 of [RFC3683], whichcopies the list of "inappropriate postings" from[RFC3005]. The list in[RFC3683] is hence updated by the new list inSection 2.¶

2.Charter for the IETF Discussion List

The IETF discussion list is meant for discussions for which a more appropriatelist does not exist, such as discussions that do not fall within the scope ofany working group, area, or other established list. When there is an existing venue for discussion, this should be noted and discussion should be moved there.¶

When no dedicated mailing list exists for a topic, it may be preferable torequest that one be created[NON-WG-LISTS] rather than discuss it onthe IETF discussion list. Availability of the new listmay be announced on the IETF discussion list and on otherrelated lists, such as area lists.¶

Appropriate postings to the IETF discussion list include:¶

• Initial discussion of technical issues that are candidates for IETF work, butappropriate mailing lists have not yet been identified.¶
• Questions and clarifications concerning practical aspects of IETF meetings,although most of these topics are better brought up on the discussion list forIETF LLC administrative issues[ADMIN-DISCUSS] or the attendee discussionlist for a given IETF meeting.¶
• Announcements of conferences, events, or activities that are sponsored orendorsed by the IETF, IRTF, IAB or the Internet Society, although the IETFannouncement list[IETF-ANNOUNCE] is the preferred list for these.¶
• Discussions of IETF direction, policy, and the standards process in general,when a more suitable list (such as the discussion list for IETF LLCadministrative issues[ADMIN-DISCUSS], the IAB discussion list forarchitectural issues[ARCH-DISCUSS], a meeting attendees list, aprocess-oriented WG list, etc.) cannot be identified.¶

These topics used to be in scope for the IETF discussion list, but have sincemoved to dedicated lists:¶

• Last Call discussions of documents now take place on the IETFLast Calls mailing list[LAST-CALLS].¶
• Discussion of IETF administrative policies now takes place on the discussionlist for IETF LLC administrative issues[ADMIN-DISCUSS].¶

Inappropriate postings include:¶

• Advertising and other unsolicited bulk e-mail¶
• Discussion of subjects unrelated to IETF policy, meetings, activities, ortechnical topics¶
• Uncivil commentary, regardless of the general subject, per the IETF Note Well[NOTE-WELL]¶
• Announcements of conferences, events, or activities that are not sponsored orendorsed by the IETF, IRTF, IAB, or the Internet Society.¶

3.Moderation

The IETF Chair appointsModerators (previously known asthe "sergeant-at-arms") for the IETF discussion list that are empowered torestrict posting by a person, or to an email thread, when the content isinappropriate and represents a pattern of abuse. They are encouraged to takeinto account the overall nature of the postings by an individual and whetherparticular postings are typical or an aberration.¶

Moderation of the IETF discussion list, including the handling of any appeals,is guided by the IETF discussion list charter specified inSection 2, and the related guidance fromSection 1 that applies to all mailinglists. The moderators are selected from within the community to moderate the community. Because the IESG and IAB are in the appealschain for moderator decisions (see below), the IETF Chair therefore should notappoint a moderator who is serving in such a role. If a moderator is selectedfor the IESG or IAB, they will step down from the moderator team.¶

Apart from appointing moderators, the IETF Chair should refrain from theday-to-day operation and management of the moderator team. The moderator teamwill independently define, publish, and execute their role; see the current setof operating procedures[MOD-SOP] and abuse patterns[MOD-UPC].The moderator team should reach out to theIETF Chair for any conflict resolution in a timely manner.¶

Because a moderator serves at the discretion of the IETF Chair -- even if theIETF Chair is not otherwise involved in the operation of the moderator team --any moderator decision can be appealed to the IETF Chair, per[RFC2026]. Decisions by the IETF Chair can be appealed to the IESG as whole,again per[RFC2026].¶

4.Security Considerations

The usual security considerations[RFC3552] do not apply to this document.¶

Potential abuse of the moderation process for the suppression of undesiredopinions is counteracted by the availability of an appeals process, perSection 3.¶

5.IANA Considerations

This document does not request any IANA actions.¶

Acknowledgements

Susan R. Harris authored[RFC3005], which this document replaces. In additionto many technical contributions to the IETF, Susan authored a number of otherfoundational documents, such as the original "IETF Guidelines for Conduct"[RFC3184] and the original "Tao of the IETF"[RFC3160]. Susan R. Harrispassed away in early 2022. This document is dedicated to hermemory, as a small token of appreciation of her many contributions.¶

The following people have made other contributions to this document:¶

• Adrian Farrel¶

• Barry Leiba¶

• Ben Kaduk¶

• Brian Carpenter¶

• Carsten Bormann¶

• Christian Huitema¶

• Dhruv Dhody¶

• Eric Rescorla¶

• Eric Vyncke¶

• Francesca Palombini¶

• John Scudder¶

• Lloyd Wood¶

• Martin Thomson¶

• Robert Wilton¶

• Subramanian Moonesamy¶

• Stephen Farrell¶

Authors' Addresses