Avoiding Exclusionary Language in RFCs
2020
It has been asserted that some language in IETF documents is
"exclusionary" - that it offends some readers or groups of people,
and/or discourages participation in IETF by doing so. While there is
some debate about exactly which language is exclusionary, at least
some cited examples of such language can credibly have such effects.
It is believed that most instances of such language are accidental,
and that most document authors and editors wish to avoid use of
language that may be offensive. This memo therefore attempts to
establish procedures that warn document authors and editors about
language that may credibly having such effects, and thereby, to reduce
both accidental and deliberate use of such language. At the same
time, it is recognized that in some cases there an be strong and
conflicting opinions about whether or not particular language is
desirable or appropriate. IETF's primary function is providing
technical direction for the benefit of the Internet community, rather
than social engineering. If a document can be blocked or substantially
delayed over disputes about the proprietary of language in that
document, this can be disruptive to IETF's primary function. This
memo therefore makes recommendations to prevent such disputes from
blocking progress on technical documents.
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