Network Working Group M. Wasserman Internet-Draft ThingMagic Expires: November 28, 2004 May 30, 2004 Updates to RFC 2418 Regarding the Role of IETF Working Group Chairs draft-wasserman-rfc2418-chair-role-update-00.txt Status of this Memo This document is an Internet-Draft and is in full conformance with all provisions of Section 10 of RFC2026. Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups. Note that other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet-Drafts. Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference material or to cite them other than as "work in progress." The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt. The list of Internet-Draft Shadow Directories can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html. This Internet-Draft will expire on November 28, 2004. Copyright Notice Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2004). All Rights Reserved. Abstract This document is an update to RFC 2418 that strengthens the recommended separation between the Working Group Chair and Document Editor roles. It states that a single person should not serve in both roles for a single document, except temporarily in exceptional situations. Wasserman Expires November 28, 2004 [Page 1] Internet-Draft Chair Role Update May 2004 Table of Contents 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2. Specific Changes to RFC 2418 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 4. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 5. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6.1 Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6.2 Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Author's Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Intellectual Property and Copyright Statements . . . . . . . . 6 Wasserman Expires November 28, 2004 [Page 2] Internet-Draft Chair Role Update May 2004 1. Introduction In RFC 2418 [RFC2418], the second paragraph of section 6.3 states that "As a general practice, the Working Group Chair and Document Editor positions are filled by different individuals to help ensure that the resulting documents accurately reflect the consensus of the working group and that all processes are followed." However, this practice is not uniformly followed in all WGs and areas, occasionally resulting in situations where the IETF processes are not followed in a sufficiently fair or open manner. WG Chairs should not be expected to make dispassionate and fair judgements about the quality, completeness and acceptability of their own work, nor should they be responsible for ensuring that their own work has been adequately reviewed. Furthermore, having the WG Chair role and the Document Editor role filled by the same person removes one level of appeal when WG members do not agree with the decisions of the Document Editor. The need for separation between the WG Chair and Document Editor roles has been further underscored by recent IETF activities intended to increase the document shepherding responsibilities of WG Chairs. This document is an update to RFC 2418 that strengthens the separation between these roles. 2. Specific Changes to RFC 2418 The following paragraphs supersede the second paragraph of RFC 2418, section 6.3: It is important that the Working Group Chair and Document Editor positions are filled by different individuals to help ensure that the resulting documents accurately reflect the consensus of the working group and that all processes are followed. In particular, a single individual should not serve in the WG Chair and Document Editor or Author roles for a single document. In many cases, a WG may have more than one WG Chair, and if one WG Chair serves as the Document Editor or Author for a WG document, the other WG Chair(s) may serve in the WG Chair role for that document. In those cases, the role of each WG Chair should be made clear to the WG and restated in any situations where there may be confusion regarding those roles. In particular, the Document Editor or Author should recuse himself from all document handling decisions involving the document, including the response to any related appeals. Wasserman Expires November 28, 2004 [Page 3] Internet-Draft Chair Role Update May 2004 In rare cases, perhaps due to a role change or chair resignation, a lone WG Chair may serve as the Document Editor for a WG document temporarily, but that situation should be avoided when possible, and corrected as quickly as practical. 3. IANA Considerations This document makes no request of IANA. Note to RFC Editor: this section may be removed on publication as an RFC. 4. Security Considerations This document describes a modification to the role of WG chairs in the IETF document handling process. It has no security considerations. 5. Acknowledgements This document reflects a discussion that was held on the MPOWR mailing list in late 2003 and early 2004. This document was written using the xml2rfc tool described in RFC 2629 [RFC2629]. 6. References 6.1 Normative References [RFC2418] Bradner, S., "IETF Working Group Guidelines and Procedures", BCP 25, RFC 2418, September 1998. 6.2 Informative References [RFC2629] Rose, M., "Writing I-Ds and RFCs using XML", RFC 2629, June 1999. Wasserman Expires November 28, 2004 [Page 4] Internet-Draft Chair Role Update May 2004 Author's Address Margaret Wasserman ThingMagic One Broadway, 14th Floor Cambridge, MA 02142 USA Phone: +1 617 758 4177 EMail: margaret@thingmagic.com URI: http://www.thingmagic.com/ Wasserman Expires November 28, 2004 [Page 5] Internet-Draft Chair Role Update May 2004 Intellectual Property Statement The IETF takes no position regarding the validity or scope of any intellectual property or other rights that might be claimed to pertain to the implementation or use of the technology described in this document or the extent to which any license under such rights might or might not be available; neither does it represent that it has made any effort to identify any such rights. Information on the IETF's procedures with respect to rights in standards-track and standards-related documentation can be found in BCP-11. 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This document and the information contained herein is provided on an "AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION Wasserman Expires November 28, 2004 [Page 6] Internet-Draft Chair Role Update May 2004 HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Acknowledgment Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the Internet Society. Wasserman Expires November 28, 2004 [Page 7]