Editing Request for Comments (section)

==Production and versioning==
The RFC Editor assigns each RFC a [[serial number]]. Once assigned a number and published, an RFC is never rescinded or modified; if the document requires amendments, the authors publish a revised document. Therefore, some RFCs supersede others; the superseded RFCs are said to be ''deprecated'', ''obsolete'', or ''obsoleted by'' the superseding RFC. Together, the serialized RFCs compose a continuous historical record of the evolution of Internet standards and practices. The RFC process is documented in {{IETF RFC|2026|link=no}} (''The Internet Standards Process, Revision 3'').<ref name="RFC Index">{{cite web
|url= //www.rfc-editor.org/rfc-index2.html
|title= ''RFC Index''
|access-date= May 26, 2008
|date= May 25, 2008
|publisher= RFC Editor
}}</ref>

The RFC production process differs from the [[standardization]] process of formal standards organizations such as [[International Organization for Standardization]] (ISO). Internet technology experts may submit an [[Internet Draft]] without support from an external institution. Standards-track RFCs are published with approval from the IETF, and are usually produced by experts participating in [[IETF Working Group]]s, which first publish an Internet Draft. This approach facilitates initial rounds of peer review before documents mature into RFCs.<ref>{{Cite IETF |title=IETF Working Group Guidelines and Procedures |rfc=2418}}</ref>

The RFC tradition of pragmatic, experience-driven, after-the-fact standards authorship accomplished by individuals or small working groups can have important advantages{{clarify|date=April 2018}} over the more formal, committee-driven process typical of ISO and national standards bodies.<ref>{{FOLDOC|Request+for+Comments}}</ref>

Most RFCs use a common set of terms such as "MUST" and "NOT RECOMMENDED" (as defined by {{IETF RFC|2119|8174|leadout=and|link=no}}), [[augmented Backus–Naur form]] (ABNF) ({{IETF RFC|5234|link=no}}) as a meta-language, and simple text-based formatting, in order to keep the RFCs consistent and easy to understand.<ref name="RFC Index" />

===Sub-series===
The RFC series contains three sub-series for [[IETF]] RFCs: BCP, FYI, and STD. Best Current Practice (BCP) is a sub-series of mandatory IETF RFCs not on standards track. For Your Information (FYI) is a sub-series of informational RFCs promoted by the IETF as specified in {{IETF RFC|1150|link=no}} (FYI&nbsp;1). In 2011, {{IETF RFC|6360|link=no}} obsoleted FYI&nbsp;1 and concluded this sub-series. Standard (STD) used to be the third and highest maturity level of the IETF standards track specified in {{IETF RFC|2026|link=no}} (BCP&nbsp;9). In 2011 {{IETF RFC|6410|link=no}} (a new part of BCP&nbsp;9) reduced the standards track to two maturity levels.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

===Streams===
There are five streams of RFCs: [[IETF]], [[Internet Research Task Force|IRTF]], [[Internet Architecture Board|IAB]], ''independent submission'',<ref name=IndepSub>{{cite web
|url=https://www.rfc-editor.org/about/independent/
|title= Independent Submissions
|access-date= January 5, 2018
|publisher= RFC Editor
}}</ref> and ''Editorial''. Only the IETF creates BCPs and RFCs on the standards track. The IAB publishes informational documents relating to policy or architecture. The IRTF publishes the results of research, either as informational documents or as experiments. Independent submissions are published
at the discretion of the Independent Submissions Editor. Non-IETF documents are reviewed by the [[IESG]] for conflicts with IETF work. IRTF and ''independent&nbsp;'' RFCs generally contain relevant information or experiments for the Internet at large not in conflict with IETF work. compare {{IETF RFC|4846|5742|5744|leadout=and|link=no}}.<ref name="RFC4846">{{cite IETF
|title=Independent Submissions to the RFC Editor
|rfc=4846
|last1=Klensin
|first1=John
|last2=Thaler
|first2=David
|date=July 2007
|publisher=[[Internet Architecture Board|IAB]]}}></ref><ref name="RFC5742">{{cite IETF
|title=IESG Procedures for Handling of Independent and IRTF Stream Submissions
|rfc=5742
|last1=Alvestrand
|first1=Harald
|last2=Housley
|first2=Russ
|date=December 2009
|publisher=[[IETF]]}}</ref> The Editorial Stream is used to effect editorial policy changes across the RFC series (see {{IETF RFC|9280|link=no}}).<ref name="rfc9280"/>