Title: RFC 1281: Guidelines for the Secure Operation of the Internet 
Authors: Richard D. Pethia  Stephen D. Crocker  Barbara Y. Fraser   
File name: pubdocguidelinesrfc1281.txt 
File size:22618 bytes 
Abstract: The purpose of this document is to provide
a set of guidelines to aid in the secure operation of the
Internet.  During its history, the Internet has grown
significantly and is now quite diverse.  Its participants include
government institutions and agencies, academic and research
institutions, commercial network and electronic mail carriers,
non-profit research centers and an increasing array of industrial
organizations who are primarily users of the technology. Despite
this dramatic growth, the system is still operated on a purely
collaborative basis.  Each participating network takes
responsibility for its own operation.  Service providers, private
network operators, users and vendors all cooperate to keep the
system functioning.  It is important to recognize that the
voluntary nature of the Intern system is both its strength and,
perhaps, its most fragile aspect. Rules of operation, like the
rules of etiquette, are voluntary and, largely, unenforceable,
except where they happen to coincide with national laws,
violation of which can lead to prosecution.  A common set of
rules for the successful and increasingly secure operation of the
Internet can, at best, be voluntary, since the laws of various
countries are not uniform regarding data networking.  Indeed, the
guidelines outlined below also can be only voluntary.  However,
since joining the Internet is optional, it is also fair to argue
that any Internet rules of behavior are part of the bargain for
joining and that failure to observe them, apart from any legal
infrastructure available, are grounds for sanctions.