[sophacles]

I've implemented a lot of protocols. Most implementations I've come across for most protocols not strictly standards conformant, for many reasons.

Big ones being:

* The standards are often not detailed enough, or contain enough loose verbage that there are many ways to understand how to implement some part, yet those ways are not interoperable.

* Many protocols allow vendor specifications in such a way that 2 implementations that are 100% compliant won't interoperate.

* Many protocol implementations are interoperable quite well, converging on behavior that isn't specified in any standard (often to the surprise of people who haven't read the relevant standards)

At least this is my experience for ietf rfc standards.

[perching_aix]

I'm aware of these factors, wasn't trying to suggest that the practice doesn't differ from the theory. What I was more going for was to highlight that the goal should be to primarily try and have these eventually converge, preferably sooner than later, not trying to strongarm the practice side and wait for the standards body in question to wake up one day and decide to amend the standard. That might give the impression of suddenness, but the core issue remains unsolved that way.

Usually when there's a high disparity between the "de jure" and the "de facto", it's due to a discrepancy in the interests and the leverage, resulting in a breakdown in communication and cooperation. Laying into either then is a bandaid attempt, not a solution. It's how either standard sprawl starts, or how standards bodies lose relevance.