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Register an Internet Media Type for a W3C Spec

This Guidebook is the collected wisdom of the W3C Group Chairs and other collaborators.

All formats defined by W3C Recommendations are of general interest to the Internet Community and are therefore registered in the standards tree (formerly IETF tree), which requires approval by the IESG.

Status of This Document

This document explains the procedures available to register an Internet Media Type for a format defined by a W3C Recommendation in the IANA registry. It is being maintained by Philippe Le Hégaret who, together with Dan Connolly, is serving as IETF/W3C liaison.

A new process, BCP 13, for registering Mime media types is defined in Media Type Specifications and Registration Procedures together with Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) Part Four: Registration Procedures, which covers IANA registration procedures for MIME external body access types and content-transfer-encodings. While the first document hasn’t been formally approved, it is our understanding that this is the process followed by the IETF and the IESG.

The TAG refers to this document in its April 2004 Finding Internet Media Type registration, consistency of use:

W3C Working Groups engaged in defining a format follow How to Register a Media Type with IANAto register an Internet Media Type (defined in [RFC2046]) for the format.

1. New Procedure: Registration template in spec, no RFC

This procedure has been written in preparation for approval of Media Type Specifications and Registration Procedures and publication as an RFC. While a few details need to be worked out in cooperation with the IETF, the expected time for this to happen seems to be short enough to be able to recommend that WGs that can start at the start of this process should actually start using this process.

1. Draft a proposal for the Media Type registration as a normative part of your specification, following the instructions in Media Type Specifications and Registration Procedures, section 4, and the template in section 10. Make sure that this part of the specification is readable on its own, without the context of the specification. If you are using XML, see RFC 3023 (and the work on RFC3023bis) requirements and section 4.5.7 Media types for XML of the World Wide Web Architecture as well. In the introduction to the relevant section, say that this registration is for community review and will be submitted to the IESG for review, approval, and registration with IANA.
2. When doing the W3C Last Call announcement: Send an email to the mailing list ietf-types@iana.org asking for comments on the Media Type section of your specification:
   • Include a pointer to and a plaintext copy (not just an attachment) of the Media Type registration section in your email to ietf-types@iana.org.
   • Make sure you address and reply to comments and questions on ietf-types@iana.org. If you change the registration in your specification as a result of comments on ietf-type (or for any other reason), send the revised version to ietf-types@iana.org.
   • If you are registering an XML-based format, you may want to cc: ietf-xml-mime@imc.org.
   • Note that you need to be subscribed to the list to post to it.
   • To make it easier for your WG to track comments on the Media Type section, you may cross-post the comments list for your specification.
3. As part of the preparation of moving out of Last Call (to W3C Candidate Recommendation or beyond):
   • Change the introduction to the registration information to say that it is being submitted to the IESG for review, approval, and registration with IANA (see also MediaTypes - IESG).
   • Send a request to Dan Connolly and Philippe Le Hégaret, IETF liaisons, with the following information:
     1. Statement asking us to request review and approval by the IESG, and registration by IANA (so that we know what this is about).
     2. Expected date of state transition (publication in TR), and next state (CR or PR) (so that we know when we can send this to the IESG, and don’t loose time).
     3. Pointer to registration template at the place it will be published (dated and undated), so that we can tell the IESG what to review.
     4. Pointer to Last Call email to ietf-types@iana.org (archives) and following discussion/comment resolution (relevant threads in email archive and/or relevant part of Last Call resolution table), so that we can show to the IESG that this has received appropriate community review.

     If any of the above information changes, send an update.

4. As part of the preparation for later state transitions (CR->PR, PR->REC):
   1. Check on progress of registration, first directly at IANA, and if your type is not yet registered there, contact Dan Connolly and Philippe Le Hégaret, IETF liaisons, who will check with the IESG.
   2. Update the introduction to the registration information in your specification to say either “registered with IANA at…” or “under review by the IESG…”, as applicable.
   3. If your registration points to a dated version, request update of the registration via Dan Connolly and Philippe Le Hégaret, IETF liaisons.

2. Old Procedure: Registration with an RFC

This is the plain old way to register a Media Type by producing an RFC. This is recommended for cases where the specification does not contain the registration information, and updating the specification just for adding the registration information does not seem feasible.

1. Create and submit an Internet-Draft containing a proposal for the Media Type registration, following the instructions in RFC2048, section 2.2. If you are using XML, see RFC3023 requirements as well.
   1. See Guidelines to Authors of Internet-Drafts; for editing the draft, we recommend XML2RFC.
   2. An online validity checker is available.
   3. Submit the Internet-Draft for publication at http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/ by sending it to the Internet-Drafts editor at internet-drafts@ietf.org.
   4. Internet-Drafts expire after 6 months; if needed, resubmit the draft.
2. Send an email to the mailing list ietf-types@iana.org asking for comments on your draft:
   • Include a plaintext copy of the draft in your email to ietf-types@iana.org (i.e. not an attachment).
   • Make sure you address and reply to comments and questions on ietf-types@iana.org. Create and submit an updated Internet-Draft if needed.
   • If you are registering an XML-based format, you may want to cc: ietf-xml-mime@imc.org.
   • Note that you need to be subscribed to the list to post to it.
   • RFC2048 section “2.3.1. Present the Media Type to the Community for Review” requires the information to be available for a two week review period.
3. Once all issues raised have been addressed in a published Internet-Draft, send an email to the IESG to request IESG approval for your Media Type registration (example), publication of the Internet-Draft as an informational RFC, and registration of the Media Type with IANA.
   • cc: Dan Connolly and Philippe Le Hégaret, IETF liaisons, on your email.
   • Follow the progress of your Internet-Draft on the IETF ID Tracker.
   • Respond promptly to requests from the IESG, in particular from the Area Director shepherding your Internet-Draft.
   • If necessary, update your Internet-Draft.
   • In case of questions or problems, contact Dan Connolly and Philippe Le Hégaret, IETF liaisons, and/or the Area Director shepherding your Internet-Draft.

3. Status of Internet Media type registrations

(specs/entries missing: p3p?, xml schema?, cc/pp? xkms?)

4. History

• created 28 June 2002 by Joseph Reagle
• Status table and new process added, mostly during 2004, by Martin Dürst
• See TAG discussion from August 2006.

Philippe Le Hégaret, IETF/W3C liaison.