'Rough Consensus and Running Code' and the Internet-OSI Standards War

Internet historians recognize the technical achievements but often overlook the bureaucratic innovations of Internet pioneers. The phrase, "We reject: kings, presidents, and voting. We believe in: rough consensus and running code," was coined by David Clark in 1992. This article explains how the phrase captured the technical and political values of Internet engineers during a crucial phase in the Internet's growth

[1]  Chris DiBona,et al.  Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution , 1999 .

[2]  David D. Clark,et al.  Rethinking the design of the Internet , 2001, ACM Trans. Internet Techn..

[3]  Susanne K. Schmidt,et al.  Coordinating Technology: Studies in the International Standardization of Telecommunications , 1997 .

[4]  Helen Nissenbaum,et al.  How computer systems embody values , 2001, Computer.

[5]  Larry Press Seeding networks: the federal role , 1996, CACM.

[6]  Jon Postel NCP/TCP transition plan , 1981, RFC.

[7]  Ross W. Callon,et al.  TCP and UDP with Bigger Addresses (TUBA), A Simple Proposal for Internet Addressing and Routing , 1992, RFC.

[8]  Mark Fischetti,et al.  Weaving the web - the original design and ultimate destiny of the World Wide Web by its inventor , 1999 .

[9]  Elwyn B. Davies IETF Problem Statement , 2004, RFC.

[10]  Igor Faynberg,et al.  Overview of data and telecommunications security standardization efforts in ISO, IEC, ITU, and IETF , 2004, Bell Labs Technical Journal.

[11]  Mark Cenite Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace , 2000 .

[12]  Lyman Chapin,et al.  The Internet Standards Process , 1992, RFC.

[13]  Vinton G. Cerf,et al.  30 Years of RFCs , 1999, RFC.

[14]  David M. Hart,et al.  Corporate Technological Capabilities and the State: A Dynamic Historical Interaction , 2003 .

[15]  Vinton G. Cerf,et al.  Towards the Future Internet Architecture , 1991, RFC.

[16]  Vinton G. Cerf The Internet Activities Board , 1989, Comput. Networks.

[17]  Paul A. David,et al.  Formal standards-setting for global telecommunications and information services. Towards an institutional regime transformation? , 1996 .

[18]  Jerome H. Saltzer,et al.  End-to-end arguments in system design , 1984, TOCS.

[19]  Janet Abbate,et al.  Government, Business, and the Making of the Internet , 2001, Business History Review.

[20]  T. M. Egyedi,et al.  'Tension between Standardisation and Flexibility' Revisited: A Critique , 1999 .

[21]  Susan R. Harris,et al.  The Tao of IETF - A Novice's Guide to the Internet Engineering Task Force , 2001, RFC.

[22]  M. A. Padlipsky Elements of Networking Style , 1984 .

[23]  Michael B. Spring Information Technology Standards. , 1991 .

[24]  National Research Council Transport protocols for Department of Defense data networks , 1985, RFC.

[25]  W. J. Drake The internet religious war , 1993 .

[26]  Gary Scott Malkin Who's Who in the Internet: Biographies of IAB, IESG and IRSG Members , 1991, RFC.

[27]  M. Witt Moving from DoD to OSI protocols: A first step , 1986, CCRV.

[28]  Ellen Hoffman,et al.  FYI on "What is the Internet?" , 1993, RFC.

[29]  Ron Sanchez,et al.  Modularity, flexibility, and knowledge management in product and organization design , 1996 .

[30]  Jonathan B. Postel,et al.  The Iso Reference Model and Other Protocol Architectures , 1983, IFIP Congress.

[31]  Jr. P. E. Green Network Interconnection and Protocol Conversion , 1988 .

[32]  David D. Clark,et al.  The design philosophy of the DARPA internet protocols , 1988, SIGCOMM '88.

[33]  Vinton G. Cerf,et al.  What Is the Internet (and What Makes it Work) , 1999 .

[35]  Richard desJardins Overview and status of the ISO reference model of open systems interconnection , 1981, CCRV.

[36]  Jon Postel,et al.  DOD standard internet protocol , 1980, CCRV.

[37]  Richard L. DesJardins Open systems standardization , 1984, ACM '84.

[38]  Lawrence Lessig,et al.  Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace , 1999 .

[39]  Vinton G. Cerf,et al.  Delay-tolerant networking: an approach to interplanetary Internet , 2003, IEEE Commun. Mag..

[40]  Christian Huitema,et al.  IPv6--the new Internet protocol , 1996 .

[41]  R. Langlois,et al.  Networks and innovation in a modular system: Lessons from the microcomputer and stereo component industries , 1992 .

[42]  Robert E. Kahn,et al.  A Protocol for Packet Network Intercommunication , 1974 .

[43]  David C. Wood Federal networking standards: policy issues , 1994, STAN.

[44]  Desmond P. Taylor,et al.  OSI Reference Model - The ISO Model of Architecture for Open Systems Interconnection , 2007 .

[45]  Sigram Schindler Open Systems, Today and Tomorrow - A Personal Perspective , 1981, Comput. Networks.

[46]  Mike Nicholls,et al.  On the internet , 2004, Biological Psychiatry.

[47]  Carl F. Cargill,et al.  Evolution and revolution in open systems , 1994, STAN.

[48]  Robert E. Kahn,et al.  The role of government in the evolution of the Internet , 1994, CACM.

[49]  Brian E. Carpenter,et al.  Architectural Principles of the Internet , 1996, RFC.

[50]  Ping Pan,et al.  Internet Engineering Task Force , 1995 .

[51]  Larry Caffrey EPHOS: Towards a European GOSIP , 1990, Comput. Networks ISDN Syst..

[52]  Lewis M. Branscomb,et al.  Computer Communications in the Eighties - Time to put It All Together , 1981, Comput. Networks.

[53]  A. Froomkin,et al.  Habermas@discourse.net: Toward a Critical Theory of Cyberspace , 2003 .

[54]  Andrew Davison,et al.  A Standard for the Transmission of IP Datagrams on Avian Carriers , 1995 .

[55]  Philippe A. Janson,et al.  Architectural Directions for Opening IBM Networks: The Case of OSI , 1992, IBM Syst. J..

[56]  Philip J. Weiser,et al.  The Internet, Innovation, and Intellectual Property Policy , 2003 .

[57]  C. Malamud Exploring the Internet: A Technical Travelogue , 1992 .