2.2 Informative Text

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2.2.1 Everything is normative by default #

All text in a specification is normative unless it is explicitly marked otherwise.

2.2.2 Marking #

Informative text MUST be marked, using a note callout:

> [!NOTE]
> This paragraph gives context and defines no behaviour.

An inline aside introduced by "For example" or "Note:" is also informative.

2.2.3 What informative text may not do #

Informative text MUST NOT contain an RFC 2119 keyword used in its normative sense. Where a note needs to refer to required behaviour, it MUST cite the normative statement that defines it rather than restating it.

2.2.4 What informative text is for #

Rationale, worked examples, the attack a rule defends against, and the alternative that was considered and rejected.

A specification SHOULD carry that material rather than omit it. A rule whose reason is unrecorded is a rule that a later revision will remove as redundant, or preserve for the wrong reason — and a wrong reason is what the revision after that will reason from.

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