An IETF with Much Diversity and Professional Conduct
draft-crocker-diversity-conduct-00

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Network Working Group                                         D. Crocker
Internet-Draft                               Brandenburg InternetWorking
Intended status: Informational                                  N. Clark
Expires: September 6, 2014                            Pavonis Consulting
                                                           March 5, 2014

          An IETF with Much Diversity and Professional Conduct
                   draft-crocker-diversity-conduct-00

Abstract

   The process of producing today's Internet through a culture of open
   participation and diverse collaboration has proved strikingly
   efficient and effective, and it is distinctive among standards
   organizations.  Historically participation in the IETF and its
   antecedent was almost entirely composed of well-funded, American,
   white, male engineers.  No matter the intentions of the participants,
   such a narrow demographic distorts group dynamics, both in management
   and in personal interactions.  In the case of the IETF, group
   interaction style can often demonstrate singularly aggressive
   behavior, often including singularly hostile tone and content.
   Groups with greater diversity make better decisions.  Obtaining
   meaningful diversity requires more than generic good will and
   statements of principle.  Many different behaviors can serve to
   reduce participant diversity or participation diversity.  This paper
   discusses the nature and practicalities of IETF attention to its
   diverse participation and to the requirement for professional
   demeanor.

Status of This Memo

   This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
   provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
   Task Force (IETF).  Note that other groups may also distribute
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   Drafts is at http://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.

   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."

   This Internet-Draft will expire on September 6, 2014.

Crocker & Clark         Expires September 6, 2014               [Page 1]
Internet-Draft   Much Diversity and Professional Conduct      March 2014

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2014 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
   (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
   publication of this document.  Please review these documents
   carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
   to this document.  Code Components extracted from this document must
   include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
   the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
   described in the Simplified BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   2.  Concerns  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     2.1.  Diversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     2.2.  Harassment and Bullying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   3.  Constructive Participation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
     3.1.  Access  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
     3.2.  Engagement  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
     3.3.  Facilitation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     3.4.  Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     3.5.  IETF Track Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     3.6.  Avoiding Distraction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
   4.  Responses to Unconstructive Participation . . . . . . . . . .  13
   5.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
   6.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
     6.1.  References - Normative  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
     6.2.  References - Informative  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
   Appendix A.  Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15

1.  Introduction

   The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) grew out of a research
   effort that was started in the late 1960s, with central funding by
   the US Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA,
   later DARPA), employing a collection of research sites around the
   United States, and including some participation by groups of the US
   Military.  The community was originally restricted to participation
   by members of the funded research groups.  In the 1980s,