The User Services Area of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)

Joyce K. Reynolds, Area Director January 10, 1992 When the IETF was first established, it did not immediately create a distinct User Services Area. As of 1991, this area has grown to take its place with other Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) areas as the importance of a user services forum has increased globally. This area provides an international forum for people interested in all levels of user services, to identify and initiate projects designed to improve the quality of the information available to users of the Internet. One continuing goal of the User Services Area is to coordinate the development of user information services by clearly and concisely providing documentation information and distribution for the Internet community. FYI (For Your Information) RFCs (Request for Comments) are introductory and overview documents for network users. Their purpose is to make available general information, rather than the protocol specifications or standards that is typical of other RFCs. FYIs are allied to the RFC series of notes, but provides information about who does what on the Internet. The FYI RFC series has proved a success since its initiation, and its goal is to continue to do so. A current list of FYI RFCs are listed at the end of this document. The actual projects of the User Services Area are handled by the creation of IETF Working Groups. There are currently eight working groups in this area. All of them held sessions at the IETF in Santa Fe, New Mexico, November 18-22, 1991. Two of the eight are newly formed working groups: Internet School Networking and Internet Anonymous FTP Archives. IETF User Services Area Working Groups Directory Information Services Infrastructure (DISI) Chaired by Christopher Weider (clw@merit.edu) Mailing Lists: General Discussion: disi@merit.edu To Subscribe: disi-request@merit.edu DISI is chartered to facilitate deployment of X.500 Directory Services on the Internet, by producing "Administrator's Guides". Current working Internet-Draft: "Executive Introduction to Directory Services using the X.500 Protocol". Internet Anonymous FTP Archives Working Group (IAFA) Chaired by Peter Deutsch (peterd@cc.mcgill.ca) and Alan Emtage (bajan@cc.mcgill.ca) Mailing Lists: General Discussion: iafa@cc.mcgill.ca To Subscribe: iafa-request@cc.mcgill.ca IAFA is chartered to define a set of recommended standard procedures for the access and administration of anonymous ftp archive sites on the Internet. Internet School Networking (ISN) Chaired by John Clement (clement@educom.edu), Art St. George (stgeorge@bootes.unm.edu), and Connie Stout (connie.stout@tenet.edu) Mailing Lists: General Discussion: isn-wg @bitnic.educom.edu To Subscribe: listserv@bitnic.educom.edu (listname: isn-wg) ISN is chartered to facilitate the connection of the United States' K-12 (Kindergarten-12th Grade) schools, public and private, to promote school networking in general. Network Information Services Infrastructure (NISI) Chaired by April Marine (april@nisc.sri.com) and Patricia Smith (psmith@merit.edu) Mailing Lists: General Discussion: nisi@merit.edu To Subscribe: nisi-request@merit.edu NISI is exploring the requirements for common, shared Internet-wide network information services. The goal is to develop an understanding for what is required to implement an information services "infrastructure" for the Internet. Current working Internet-draft: "Building a Network Information Services Infrastructure". NOC-Tool Catalogue Revisions Working Group (noctool2) Chaired by Robert Enger (enger@ans.net) and Darren Kinley (kinley@crim.ca) Mailing Lists: General Discussion: noctools@merit.edu To Subscribe: noctools-request@merit.edu "Son of NOCTools" is updating and revising their catalog to assist network managers in the selection and acquisition of diagnostic and analytic tools for TCP/IP Internets. User Documentation (UserDoc) Chaired by Lenore Jackson (jackson@dftnic.gsfc.nasa.gov) and Ellen Hoffman (esh@merit.edu) Mailing Lists: General Discussion: user-doc@nnsc.nsf.net To Subscribe: user-doc-request@nnsc.nsf.net User-Doc is preparing a revised bibliography of on-line and hard copy documents/reference materials/ training tools addressing general networking information and how to use the Internet. (Target audience: those individuals who provide services to end users and end users themselves.) User Glossary (UserGloss) Chaired by Gary Malkin (gmalkin@ftp.com) and Tracy LaQuey Parker (tracy@nic.the.net) Mailing lists: General discussion: usergloss@ftp.com To Subscribe: usergloss-request@ftp.com User-Gloss is chartered to create an Internet glossary of networking terms and acronyms for the Internet community. User Services (USWG) Chaired by Joyce K. Reynolds (jkrey@isi.edu) Mailing Lists: General discussion: us-wg@nnsc.nsf.net To Subscribe: us-wg-request@nnsc.nsf.net The User Services Working Group provides a regular forum for people interested in all user services to identify and initiate projects designed to improve the quality of information available to end-users of the Internet. ====================================================================== Internet Documentation for USERS (not Wizards!) The FYI RFC Series FYI 11 "A Catalog of Available X.500 Implementations", January 1992. FYI 10 "There's Gold in them thar Networks! or Searching for Treasure in all the Wrong Places", December 1991. FYI 9 "Who's Who in the Internet: Biographies of IAB, IESG and IRSG Members", August 1991. FYI 8 "Site Security Handbook", July 1991. FYI 7 "FYI on Questions and Answers: Answers to Commonly Asked "Experienced Internet User" Questions", February 1991. FYI 6 "FYI on the X Window System", January 1991. FYI 5 "Choosing a Name for Your Computer", August 1990. FYI 4 "FYI on Questions and Answers: Answers to Commonly asked "New Internet User" Questions", February 1991. FYI 3 "FYI on Where to Start: A Bibliography of Internetworking Information", August 1990. FYI 2 "FYI on a Network Management Tool Catalog: Tools for Monitoring and Debugging TCP/IP Internets and Interconnected Devices", April 1990. FYI 1 "F.Y.I. on F.Y.I.: Introduction to the F.Y.I. Notes", March 1990.