MAJOR ISSUE: WG formation process

[Melinda Shore]

> Is this a problem?  Why would energy quickly evaporate?  People start
> work but then lose support to participate?  Some article in Wired shifts
> everybody's attention to the next hot topic?  I'm used to thinking of
> the WG formation process as a pain, but it might be a good thing for
> filtering out fads.

Well, clearly there's a problem if getting a needed protocol
out takes so long that proprietary protocol/implementations
take hold and the IETF working group becomes irrelevant.
Still, I've found that to be more of a problem once a
working group is underway than it is during the chartering
process.  Also, I've found that fewer people tend to be
interested in the bits-'n-bytes aspect of the work than they
are in the architectural framework phase (I suppose there's
some irony there, given how badly we do architecture) and
that causes some natural attrition as working groups hunker
down after an initial protocol draft.

Melinda