On Fri, July 18, 2008 12:30 pm, Iñaki Baz Castillo wrote:
> Yes, too much SHOULD in the RFC3261. :(

This keeps coming up (and I'm not just picking on you!).  People assume
that 'SHOULD' means the same as the English word 'should'.  In fact,
RFC2119 defines SHOULD like this:

3. SHOULD   This word, or the adjective "RECOMMENDED", mean that there
   may exist valid reasons in particular circumstances to ignore a
   particular item, but the full implications must be understood and
   carefully weighed before choosing a different course.

If more people read that and thought about the 'full implications' and
'carefully weighed' them, the world would be a happier place!

I think RjS summarised it once[0] as 'SHOULD means MUST, unless you have a
really really good reason', which seems like a useful way to remember it.

Michael

[0] I may have misremembered the exact wording, but I hope I have captured
the essence correctly.

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