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Jul 23, 2025
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Editorial reorg of text defining REC track statuses #1079

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Editorial reorg of text defining REC track statuses
frivoal Jul 21, 2025
a53b499
Use more precise phrasing
frivoal Jul 23, 2025
3ca4615
Use more open-ended phrasing
frivoal Jul 23, 2025
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Expand Up @@ -3459,7 +3459,7 @@ The W3C Recommendation Track</h3>
and if there is support from its Membership,
W3C publishes it as a <a href="#RecsW3C">Recommendation</a>.

In summary, the <dfn lt="W3C Recommendation Track | REC Track | Recommendation Track | Recommendation-track">W3C Recommendation Track</dfn> consists of:
In summary, the main steps of <dfn lt="W3C Recommendation Track | REC Track | Recommendation Track | Recommendation-track">W3C Recommendation Track</dfn> are:

<ol>
<li>Publication of the [=First Public Working Draft=].
Expand All @@ -3468,33 +3468,32 @@ The W3C Recommendation Track</h3>
<li>Publication as a [=W3C Recommendation=].
</ol>

A <dfn export lt="W3C Recommendation Track document | REC Track document | Recommendation Track document | Recommendation-track document">W3C Recommendation Track document</dfn>
is any document whose current status is one of the four in the numbered list above.

<figure>
<pre class=include-raw>
path: basic-rec-track.svg
</pre>
<figcaption>Non-Normative Summary of the [=Recommendation Track=]</figcaption>
</figure>

This Process defines certain [=Recommendation Track=] publications as <dfn>Patent Review Drafts</dfn>.
Under the 2004 Patent Policy (and its 2017 update) [[!PATENT-POLICY-2004]],
these correspond to “Last Call Working Draft” in the Patent Policy;
Starting from the 2020 Patent Policy [[!PATENT-POLICY-2020]],
these correspond to “Patent Review Draft” in the Patent Policy [[!PATENT-POLICY]].

W3C <em class="rfc2119">may</em> <a href="#tr-end">end work on a technical report</a> at any time.

Only sufficiently technically mature work should be advanced.
As described in [[#transition-reqs]],
the [=Team=] will decline a request to advance in maturity stage
and return the specification to a [=Working Group=] for further work
if it determines that the requirements for advancement
have not been met.

Note: Should faster advancement to meet scheduling considerations be desired,
this can be achieved by reducing the scope of the technical report to a subset that is adequately mature and deferring
less stable features to other technical reports.

W3C <em class="rfc2119">may</em> <a href="#tr-end">end work on a technical report</a> at any time.

<h4 id="maturity-stages">
Maturity Stages on the Recommendation Track</h4>

A <dfn export lt="W3C Recommendation Track document | REC Track document | Recommendation Track document | Recommendation-track document">W3C Recommendation Track document</dfn>
is any document whose current status is one of those described in this section.

<dl>
<dt>
<dfn id="RecsWD" export lt="W3C Working Draft | Working Draft | WD">Working Draft</dfn> (<abbr>WD</abbr>)
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -3690,11 +3689,16 @@ Maturity Stages on the Recommendation Track</h4>

</dl>

Only sufficiently technically mature work should be advanced.
This Process defines certain [=Recommendation Track=] publications as <dfn>Patent Review Drafts</dfn>.
Under the 2004 Patent Policy (and its 2017 update) [[!PATENT-POLICY-2004]],
these correspond to “Last Call Working Draft” in the Patent Policy;
Starting from the 2020 Patent Policy [[!PATENT-POLICY-2020]],
these correspond to “Patent Review Draft” in the Patent Policy [[!PATENT-POLICY]].

Note: Should faster advancement to meet scheduling considerations be desired,
this can be achieved by reducing the scope of the technical report to a subset that is adequately mature and deferring
less stable features to other technical reports.
[=Working Groups=] and [=Interest Groups=] <em class="rfc2119">may</em> make available [=Editor's drafts=].
<dfn export lt="Editor's Draft | Editor Draft | ED">Editor's drafts</dfn> (<abbr>ED</abbr>) have no official standing whatsoever,
and do not necessarily imply consensus of a [=Working Group=] or [=Interest Group=],
nor are their contents endorsed in any way by W3C.

When publishing an updated version of an existing [=Candidate Recommendation=] or [=Recommendation=],
technical reports are expected to meet the same maturity criteria as when they are first published under that status.
Expand All @@ -3704,11 +3708,6 @@ Maturity Stages on the Recommendation Track</h4>
it is also permissible to publish an updated [=CR=] or [=REC=] following the usual process,
even if only some of these flaws have been satisfactorily addressed.

[=Working Groups=] and [=Interest Groups=] <em class="rfc2119">may</em> make available [=Editor's drafts=].
<dfn export lt="Editor's Draft | Editor Draft | ED">Editor's drafts</dfn> (<abbr>ED</abbr>) have no official standing whatsoever,
and do not necessarily imply consensus of a [=Working Group=] or [=Interest Group=],
nor are their contents endorsed in any way by W3C.

<h4 id="implementation-experience">
Implementation Experience</h4>

Expand Down