The RFC Editor maintains the central repository and official archive of Internet Request for Comments documents. Its work covers the editing, publication, indexing, and long-term preservation of the RFC Series.
RFCs are technical documents describing Internet protocols, standards, procedures, research, and historical material. The first RFC was written by Steve Crocker in 1969 as part of the early ARPANET project. Although many RFCs are associated with the Internet Engineering Task Force, the series also includes documents from the IRTF, IAB, and independent submissions.
The RFC Editor does not decide every document’s technical content by itself. Different streams approve or sponsor documents, while the RFC Editor function prepares them for publication and distributes the finished documents. Published RFC text is treated as permanent: later changes are issued as new RFCs that update or obsolete earlier documents.
A common mix-up is naming the IETF as the repository’s maintainer. The IETF develops and approves much Internet standards work, but the RFC Editor is responsible for the official publication and archive of the RFC Series. IEEE, W3C, and ICANN each have important roles elsewhere in Internet technology and governance.