We mention RFCs quite a lot, both explicitly (RFC 6376 is the specification for DKIM) and implicitly (the 822.From aka bounce address aka return path).

And we have local copies of a bunch of them to make them easy to refer to (SMTP, MIME, Carrier Pigeons …).

They use quite a lot of jargon and implicit information and metadata that’s not really explained terribly clearly anywhere, rather picked up from experience using them.

But now Mark Nottingham has written a great intro “How to Read an RFC“.

It’s good. If you ever need to refer to RFCs you should go and read it.

RFCs