RFC 791, "Internet Protocol", September 1981

Errata ID: 6677
Status: Rejected
Type: Editorial
Publication Format(s) : TEXT
Reported By: Øyvind Bolme Fredriksen
Date Reported: 2021-09-06
Rejected by: Erik Kline
Date Rejected: 2023-06-10

Section 3.1 says:

Protocol:  8 bits

    This field indicates the next level protocol used in the data
    portion of the internet datagram.  The values for various protocols
    are specified in "Assigned Numbers" [9].

It should say:

Protocol:  8 bits

    This field indicates the next upper level protocol used in the data
    portion of the internet datagram.  The values for various protocols
    are specified in "Assigned Numbers" [9], section ASSIGNED INTERNET PROTOCOL NUMBERS.

Notes:

The word 'next' is ambiguous in the sense that it does not indicate whether the 'next' protocol is at the next LOWER or UPPER level (referring to Fig. 1). Although it may be obvious to people well versed in this domain that the next UPPER level protocol is meant, as a newcomer I had to think twice to reach at this conclusion.

Also, the reference to [9] could be more specific.
--VERIFIER NOTES--
The description of the Protocol field states that it refers to the protocol "used in the data portion of the internet datagram". In the context of Figure 1, this cannot refer to a lower layer protocol.

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