Subject: Document Action: 'HTTP Client Hints' to Experimental RFC (draft-ietf-httpbis-client-hints-15.txt)

From: The IESG <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 10 Jul 2020 08:14:40 -0700

The IESG has approved the following document:
- 'HTTP Client Hints'
  (draft-ietf-httpbis-client-hints-15.txt) as Experimental RFC

This document is the product of the HTTP Working Group.

The IESG contact persons are Murray Kucherawy and Barry Leiba.

A URL of this Internet Draft is:
https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-httpbis-client-hints/

Technical Summary

An increasing diversity of Web-connected devices and software
capabilities has created a need to deliver optimized content for each
device. This specification defines a set of HTTP request header fields,
colloquially known as Client Hints, to address this. They are intended to
be used as input to proactive content negotiation; just as the Accept
header field allows clients to indicate what formats they prefer, Client
Hints allow clients to indicate a list of device and agent specific
preferences.

Working Group Summary

The document was reviewed by a broad range of Working Group participants,
as well as external parties (through Github and other external venues).
Members of the Web performance optimisation community are especially
interested in this specification, as it allows for automating the use of
"responsive images."  Consensus is rough regarding how useful this
specification will be, but there was agreement that it was useful to
document; hence the Experimental status.

Document Quality

The intended status is Experimental, as there is currently only
implementation in one major browser engine (Chromium, used in several
browsers). The Working Group felt that it was useful to document this
protocol extension to improve interoperability and encourage further
implementation.

Personnel

Mark Nottingham is the Document Shepherd; Barry Leiba is the Responsible
AD.