W3C vs IETF

May 13, 2004 1:56 PM

The W3C has invited Atom to create a formal working group as a part of their organization, as opposed to the IETF. What are the major differences, politically and historically, between the IETF and W3C?
posted by djacobs to computers & internet (2 comments total)

I believe the IETF is more for the Internet (eg. network architecture) while the W3C is more for the Web (eg. HTML standards). I could be wrong, though.
posted by reklaw at 2:02 PM on May 13, 2004

That's right, and they also have different approaches to their roles. In general the IETF documents, in RFCs and Standards, existing Internet protocols as they are used in the real world. The W3C is more prescriptive, issuing Working Drafts and Recommendations that attempt to specify Web protocols for future adoption.

The canonical description of their differences is in this appendix to the W3C Process Document.
posted by nicwolff at 2:37 PM on May 13, 2004