> it was designed in 1998 by networking gear companies
That's false. Firstly, rfc1883 was published in 1995 which means work started some time before that, and the RFC process included operating system vendors and RIR administrators. The primary author of rfc1883 worked at Xerox Parc, and the primary author of rfc1885 worked at DEC. Neither were networking gear companies.
No, I think proposed, draft and internet standard all have specific meanings we don't need to debate over. Your claim that IPv6 was first proposed in 1995 is correct, as is my claim that it was first accepted in 1998. No one actually uses a proposed standard, but when it is draft people start implementing it and giving feedback over issues until it is fully ratified is my understanding (correct me if that's wrong please).
That's false. Firstly, rfc1883 was published in 1995 which means work started some time before that, and the RFC process included operating system vendors and RIR administrators. The primary author of rfc1883 worked at Xerox Parc, and the primary author of rfc1885 worked at DEC. Neither were networking gear companies.