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Los estándares de internet deben evolucionar por diferentes etapas; en inglés: Proposed standard / Draft Standard / Standard. El primer nivel de la evolución de una tecnología estándar es el Proposed Standard:

Specifications that are intended to become Internet Standards evolve through a set of maturity levels known as the standards track. These maturity levels are "Proposed Standard", "Draft Standard", and "Standard".

A Proposed Standard specification is generally stable, has resolved known design choices, is believed to be well-understood, has received significant community review, and appears to enjoy enough community interest to be considered valuable. However, further experience might result in a change or even retraction of the specification before it advances. Usually, neither implementation nor operational experience is required.