--- /dev/null
+#!/usr/bin/perl -w
+use strict;
+# Copyright 2019 all contributors <meta@public-inbox.org>
+# License: AGPL-3.0+ <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl-3.0.txt>
+
+print <<EOF;
+Relevant standards for public-inbox users and hackers
+-----------------------------------------------------
+
+Non-exhaustive list of standards public-inbox software attempts or
+intends to implement. This list is intended to be a quick reference
+for hackers and users.
+
+Given the goals of interoperability and accessibility; strict
+conformance to standards is not always possible, but rather
+best-effort taking into account real-world cases. In particular,
+"obsolete" standards remain relevant as long as clients and
+data exists.
+
+IETF RFCs
+---------
+
+EOF
+
+my $rfcs = [
+ 3977 => 'NNTP',
+ 977 => 'NNTP (old)',
+ 6048 => 'NNTP additions to LIST command (TODO)',
+ 8054 => 'NNTP compression (TODO)',
+ 4642 => 'NNTP TLS (TODO)',
+ 8143 => 'NNTP TLS (TODO)',
+ 2980 => 'NNTP extensions (obsolete, but NOT irrelevant)',
+ 4287 => 'Atom syndication',
+ 4685 => 'Atom threading extensions',
+ 2919 => 'List-Id mail header',
+ 5064 => 'Archived-At mail header',
+ 3986 => 'URI escaping',
+ 1521 => 'MIME extensions',
+ 2616 => 'HTTP/1.1 (newer updates should apply, too)',
+ 7230 => 'HTTP/1.1 message syntax and routing',
+ 7231 => 'HTTP/1.1 semantics and content',
+ 2822 => 'Internet message format',
+ # TODO: flesh this out
+
+];
+
+my @rfc_urls = qw(tools.ietf.org/html/rfc%d
+ www.rfc-editor.org/errata_search.php?rfc=%d);
+
+for (my $i = 0; $i < $#$rfcs;) {
+ my $num = $rfcs->[$i++];
+ my $txt = $rfcs->[$i++];
+ print "rfc$num\t- $txt\n";
+
+ printf "\thttps://$_\n", $num foreach @rfc_urls;
+ print "\n";
+}
+
+print <<'EOF'
+Other relevant documentation
+----------------------------
+
+* Documentation/technical/http-protocol.txt in git source code:
+ https://public-inbox.org/git/9c5b6f0fac/s
+
+* Various mbox formats (we currently emit and parse mboxrd)
+ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mbox
+
+Copyright
+---------
+
+Copyright 2019 all contributors <meta@public-inbox.org>
+License: AGPL-3.0+ <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl-3.0.txt>
+EOF