My thoughts about the problems of the IETF

[john.loughney at nokia.com]

Hi James,

> There seems to be a common misconception in IETF that people can't
> appeal a WG or IESG decision based on technical grounds. RFC 2026 is
> quite clear that this is possible. Section 6.5.2 has this to say about
> appeals:
> 
>    An individual (whether a participant in the relevant Working Group or
>    not) may disagree with a Working Group recommendation based on his or
>    her belief that either (a) his or her own views have not been
>    adequately considered by the Working Group, or (b) the Working Group
>    has made an incorrect technical choice which places the quality
>    and/or integrity of the Working Group's product(s) in significant
>    jeopardy.  The first issue is a difficulty with Working Group
>    process;  the latter is an assertion of technical error.  These two
>    types of disagreement are quite different, but both are handled by
>    the same process of review.
> 
> The RFC then goes on to describe the appeal process.

But what happens when an AD or IESG member tells a document editor
to change x, y & z before a draft can pass IESG review?  Is there
any way to appeal this?  This is what I think most people have
been complaining about.

I am not trying to be inflamatory, but generally curious - can
the WG or document editor pose a challenge to the IESG in such
a circumstance? Is there an official appeals process?

br,
John