Network Working Group                                         M. Thomson
Internet-Draft                                                   Mozilla
Intended status: Informational                        September 12, 2017
Expires: March 16, 2018


                           The Teapot Exists
                      draft-thomson-http-teapot-00

Abstract

   The teapot exists.

Status of This Memo

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Internet-Draft              The Teapot Exists             September 2017


1.  The Existence of Teapots

   In an unpublished article in 1952 [TEAPOT], Bertrand Russell
   postulated the existence of a teapot:

      To take another illustration: nobody can prove that there is not
      between the Earth and Mars a china teapot revolving in an
      elliptical orbit, but nobody thinks this sufficiently likely to be
      taken into account in practice.

   Though mentioned originally in jest and without solid evidence of its
   existence, first by Russell and later by Masinter [HTCPCP], sightings
   have increased in recent years.

   The teapot exists.

2.  Philosophical Considerations

   We cannot be certain whether the teapot is cognizant of its own
   existence.  Though Decartes [COGITO] used thought as the basis of his
   theory of existence, it's not established whether thought is a
   necessary precondition for existence.


                                 (418)
                                o
                             _,_
                           c(___)r



3.  Security Considerations

   Even jokes can have serious consequences.  Arguably, the best jokes
   always have consequences.

4.  IANA Considerations

   IANA shall register the 418 (I'm a Teapot) status code in the
   Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) Status Code Registry, citing this
   document.

   As recommended by [RFC7231], this document refines the definition of
   the 418 status code.  Being a teapot is irrevocable, therefore this
   status code is cacheable.  The payload of a response with a 418
   status code isn't a representation of the effective request URI
   unless the Content-Location header field contains the effective
   request URI.



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5.  References

5.1.  Normative References

   [RFC7231]  Fielding, R., Ed. and J. Reschke, Ed., "Hypertext Transfer
              Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Semantics and Content", RFC 7231,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC7231, June 2014,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7231>.

5.2.  Informative References

   [COGITO]   Descartes, R., "Discourse on the Method", 1637.

   [HTCPCP]   Masinter, L., "Hyper Text Coffee Pot Control Protocol
              (HTCPCP/1.0)", RFC 2324, DOI 10.17487/RFC2324, April 1998,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2324>.

   [TEAPOT]   Russell, B., "Is There a God?", Never published , 1952,
              <https://www.cfpf.org.uk/articles/religion/br/
              br_god.html>.

Author's Address

   Martin Thomson
   Mozilla

   Email: martin.thomson@gmail.com
























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