[iaufwg] Registering the FOREIGN extension name

[Steve Allen]

The more I ruminate over this the more it seems as if it corresponds
to the IANA registration of MIME types before RFC 2048.  Anyone (even
third parties with no direct connection to a proprietary vendor) could
propose any new top-level MIME type.  I don't think FITS XTENSIONs will
ever see quite the same level of need for oversight.

On Thu 2006-10-05T18:56:24 +0200, Lucio Chiappetti hath writ:
> Maybe C should be called A (active), not that I care on the name, but C
> for Conforming makes me thin that somebody has verified conformity ... and
> if so should this not occur as soon as a document is received ?

"A" for active could imply some sort of timeout on the discussion
before it might be classified as dormant, obsolescent, or superseded.
I'm not sure I would create that sort of procedural requirement.
Even an XTENSION classified as "L" could be dormant, obsolescent,
or superseded, and the two now so classified might be that.

Instead I would simply like to know who proposed what, when.
I want to know the date of the registration and some sort of
indication of whom to query about its possible ongoing use.

In many cases the discovery of such non-standard XTENSION names
seems likely to be part of an archaeolgical expedition, and any
help the registry can provide will be a good service.

For XTENSION names which are simply being reserved, the representation
of conformity is probably something that has to stand on the reputation
of the proposer.  Proof of conformity is not something that seems
necessary for anything less than "standard" classification.

> Perhaps one may want to introduce a further transient status between C and
> S, i.e. "being considered for promotion to standard level" ?

If this is the case then there should be a visible, time-limited, and
already well-established process in place.  I think it could be
sufficient for the XTENSION registry page to indicate where to look
for anything that might be active in the standarization process.

--
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