My thoughts about the problems of the IETF

[Keith Moore]

from personal experience, adding outside reviewers can increase AD
workload, because the AD needs to evaluate the reviews in addition to
the documents under review.  (outside reviews can and do help
increase document quality because they catch thing that the IESG and
working group miss, but they don't generally reduce workload.)

or if you think that the reviewers should be part of the decision making
process, consider that the more people involved in making a decision,
the harder it is to get convergence.

IESG members are about the only people in IETF who are routinely
expected to review documents within a short and bounded timeframe (say
2-4 weeks), that aren't necessarily in their area of personal or
professional interest, and without compensation.  it would be difficult
to impose these demands on outside reviewers, so the result of trying
to rely on outside reviewers might mean more delay in getting documents
reviewed.

two ways that outside reviewers might help reduce workload:

1. require all documents to have N favorable outside reviews, each
from an IESG-appointed reviewer pool, before going to IESG review

2. provide that any document which has more than Z unfavorable
reviews from the reviewer pool need not be considered by IESG

however, if we give outside reviewers any formal power we need to
define ethics for such review - such as, reviewers should not accept
compensation for reviews.  otherwise people will try to buy favorable
reviews for their pet projects and unfavorable reviews for others.