12 Part 1 · An Introduction Many of the most widely used standards on the Internet actually do not follow this structure at all; they were instead developed under the auspices of the free-wheeling Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). The IETF does not belong to ANSI and it does not even offer membership, collect dues, or have a board. The IETF is overseen, however, by the Internet Society (ISOC), a not-for-profit membership organization whose role is to promote the growth of the Internet. IETF standards start as "Internet drafts," and then, after a comments and revisions process (typically conducted over an e-mail list), the document is submitted to the Requests For Com- ments (RFC) editor, who publishes the official RFC and assigns it a number. RFCs are never changed--they simply become obsolete by the issuance of subsequent RFCs. RFCs can also eventually be formalized into "standards track" RFCs by the IETF; those RFCs can eventually be turned into Internet Standards (STD). This process, though a bit confusing to outsiders, has produced many of the technologies found at the core of the Internet. Creating a Standard The standards process is typically started with the formation of a "working group" or a "task group" made up of concerned participants whose work is open to the public for review or col- laboration. Generally, a subset of the group develops a draft of a proposed standard using as precise language as possible, and then releases the draft to the public for a period of review and comment. 5 Under procedures established by the sanctioning body, the group resolves the comments, objections, or suggestions and, if all goes well after several rounds of this process, the group issues the final standard. The group then takes on the responsibility for maintenance, support, and future upgrades of the standard.