The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is a standards organization responsible for the technical standards that make up the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) and is dedicated to developing open standards through transparent processes with one goal in mind: to make the Internet work better. Established in 1986 to coordinate the operation, management, and evolution of the Internet, the IETF has no formal membership roster or requirements—all its participants are volunteers and the organization is open to any interested individual. The IETF's work takes place in more than 100 working groups, and all decisions are made on the basis of "rough consensus and running code" through a reasonably extensive review process.
The organization is structured around working groups organized by subject matter, with area directors and the IETF Chair forming the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG), which is responsible for overall operations. Through this collaborative model, RFCs (Requests for Comments) have become the primary documents of the IETF and serve as final standards that shape the technical infrastructure of the modern Internet.