These instructions are valid as of September 8, 1997.
WGs should remove any references to S/MIME from any document intended for standards track. A non-normative reference to S/MIME may remain, as long as the protocol described in that document can be implemented completely without information from the S/MIME specification.
WGs may document uses of S/MIME in Informational and Experimental RFCs, and such RFCs may reference the S/MIME specification. However, such documents will not be published as RFCs sooner than their standards-track siblings. If and when S/MIME is accepted on the IETF standards track, any Informational or Experimental documents that reference S/MIME can then also be considered for the standards track.
IESG has invited RSADSI to discuss terms under which S/MIME can be standardized in IETF. However, the final determination of whether to standardize S/MIME, or allow the referencing of an external S/MIME specification in a standards-track RFC, will be made by IESG. WGs are not to accept assurances that S/MIME can be used in an standards-track document, unless such assurances are made by IESG.
Note: The person responsible for discussing with RSADSI is Jeff Schiller, the Security Area Director.