RFC 582

Comments on RFC 580 - Machine Readable Protocols 🎀

RFC 582, by R. Clements of BBN-TENEX (NIC 19962), dated 5 November 1973 🦋. The header doesn't list a category, and it doesn't say whether it obsoletes or updates anything. So this is basically a reply to RFC 580 💌

Okay so bestie, Clements is totally on board with the whole machine-readable protocols idea 🙌 He's like, honestly the line-printer is way more reliable than the copying machine, and he's not wrong 💅

But he's got beef with the phrase "preferably as nls files" from RFC 580 🙈 The problem isn't NLS itself or how you retrieve stuff. The problem is there aren't any conversion tools that get you INTO NLS. Like, how do you even get your doc in there? 🤔

Here's the vibe: most sites already have their own text editors and RUNOFF's (or whatever their equivalents are) 💻 And honestly, a lot of the big protocol docs get started by secretarial help 📝 So those people should be able to write the docs on their home machine, or wherever, in the languages they already know 🫶 That's giving accessibility, no cap ✨

So he wants a general program that turns nicely formatted text into NLS files 🔥 He's saying it'd be ideal if it's super clever, but at the very least it should be generally available and predictable 👑

He also wonders if the mail program for the journal could do the trick 📬 If so, though, it needs more documentation than what's in RFC 543, which is all about mail. And people need to know it exists and how to use it, so it has to get publicised 📣 Main character energy for the mail program, honestly 💜

RECEIVED AT NIC NOVEMBER 14, 1973.

[ This RFC was put into machine readable form for entry ] [ into the online RFC archives by Lorrie Shiota 1/02 ] 🌈