Network Working Group Mike O'Dell
Internet-Draft UUNET Technologies
March 1998
Some Thoughts on the Importance of Modesty and Decorum
and an IETF Code of Conduct
<draft-odell-code-of-conduct-01.txt>
Status of this Memo
This document is an Internet-Draft. 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.''
To learn the current status of any Internet-Draft, please check the
1id-abstracts.txt listing contained in the Internet-Drafts Shadow
Directories on ftp.is.co.za (Africa), nic.nordu.net (Europe),
munnari.oz.au (Pacific Rim), ds.internic.net (US East Coast), or
ftp.isi.edu (US West Coast).
Abstract
Because of the importance of the work done in the IETF, and because
of the broad cultural diversity of the participants, some of whom
find our most-unrestrained "style" of interaction rather foreign and
uncomfortable, I believe the time has come for the IETF to adopt a
Code of Conduct to govern our interactions.
1.0 Background
The Internet Engineering Task Force is the unique, all-volunteer
organization promulgating the standards which make the global
Internet technically viable. As such, the participants who do this
critical work are very bright, usually quite passionate individuals,
often with strong opinions which are equally strongly held.
The IETF has a long tradition of evolving ideas forged in the fires
of impassioned analysis which then go on to be tempered by
confrontation with real-world operational deployment before they are
deemed "a standard."
O'Dell 2.1 [Page 1]
Internet-Draft An IETF Code of Conduct March 1998
The its very nature, this process of vigorous debate and evaluation
makes for the occasionally over-animated interchange between well-
intentioned people. A free-ranging exchange of ideas and viewpoints
is critical to the success of the process, but when it oversteps the
bounds of modesty and decorum, it is to the detriment of the process.
2.0 Codes of Conduct
Historically, many great deliberative bodies have attempted to
wrestle with the conflicting demands of passion and reason by
establishing a "code of conduct" which serves to remind the
deliberants of their obligations to their colleagues. While the
antiquarian honorifics such as "The Gentleman from Upper Lowerville"
and "The Honorable Senator from East Noseblow" strike the modern ear
with some humor, the underlying agreement to treat each other with a
respectable level of civility is the critical matter.
Such codes of conduct reinforce the tenets of honest debate and
create a bond of honor which can and does get called when the heat of
passion overtakes the machinery of reason. This provides an agreed-
upon obligation to pull back from the brink of personal insult and
affront, providing an opportunity for reason to salvage honor.
3.0 The Need for a Code of Conduct in the IETF
Because of the importance of the work done in the IETF and because of
the broad cultural diversity of the participants, some of whom find
our most-unrestrained "style" of interaction hard rather foreign and
uncomfortable, I believe the time has come for the IETF to adopt a
Code of Conduct to govern our interactions. It would apply to in-
person interactions like those at the IETF Meetings, but also to
Email exchanges as well where the level of invective tends to
escalate even faster than in face-to-face interactions.
It has become clear that the IETF is missing opportunities to review
some very important technology because the creators chose to go
elsewhere to define these technologies. We are also denied the
expertise of smart people who could otherwise contribute
significantly to what we do but chose not to subject themselves to
behavior we have previously excused as "unrefined advocacy."
Note carefully that the intent is not to proscribe any particular
behavior, but rather to affirm a commitment to a course of action and
an attitude toward each other which will improve the effectiveness of
our deliberations. Or said in a somewhat more IETF-like way:
"Reduce the heat and increase the light."
O'Dell 2.1 [Page 2]
Internet-Draft An IETF Code of Conduct March 1998
4.0 Precepts of the IETF Code of Conduct.
What follows is a list of precepts which form the IETF Code of
Conduct. Adherence to these in both action and spirit will promote
the general welfare of the IETF community and promote more productive
deliberations. Variance from them should only provoke a gentle
reminder, not provide grounds for flamewars.
(1a) The IETF is composed of many people from many cultures and does
work having global scope and importance.
(1b) An IETF Member honors the organization by extending his
colleagues respect and honest courtesy at all times, especially
when it is difficult to agree with them. Seeing from another's
point of view is often revealing, even when it fails to be
compelling.
(2a) The business of the IETF is the development and testing of
Ideas.
(2b) An IETF Member disputes an idea with reasoned argument rather
than attacking the colleague proposing the idea. Intimidation and
Ad Homonym attack have no place in reasoned deliberations,
especially so for casting aspersions upon a participant's
motivations.
(2c) Likewise, "witty repartee'" and rhetorical one-upsmanship have
scant use in technical discussions. While spirited word-play may
be an emotionally satisfying diversion and may occasionally
provide much-needed comic relief, it is at best only a diversion
and does not advance the real business of the IETF. Worse, when
done badly or to intentionally prickle another, it serves only to
increase contentiousness and breed rancor.
(3a) The goal of the IETF is a working, viable, scalable global
Internet and the concomitant problems are genuinely very hard.
(3b) An IETF Member always proceeds based on Right Reason and strives
to be as intellectually honest as she knows how to be. Further,
she dedicates her intellect to solving the problems in the best
way, not merely the most expedient.
(3c) An IETF Member understands that "Scaling is the Ultimate
Problem" and that many ideas quite workable in the small fail this
crucial test.
(3d) An IETF Member strives to find the best solution for the whole
Internet, not the best solution for any particular vendor,
operator or user. Few things are as unseemly as transparent axe-
grinding.
(4a) "Best" is a very tricky concept, fluid and dynamic.
(4b) An IETF Member understands change is one of the few certainties
and that without the exercise of supreme discipline, one can spend
O'Dell 2.1 [Page 3]
Internet-Draft An IETF Code of Conduct March 1998
eternity working for unknowable perfection while the real-world
problems languish, denied adequate attention. (4c) An IETF Member
is keenly aware that solutions unfettered by consideration of
global deployability are likely to be unproductive.
(5a) An IETF Member strives at all times to abide by this code and
the spirit it embodies. This spirit is all-encompassing, and is
especially applicable to electronic exchanges such as email and
telephony as well as in-person interactions.
(5b) When a colleague suffers a lapse in adherence to this spirit, an
IETF Member offers a gentle but forthright reminder of their
agreement to honor this spirit. Castigation and remonstration are
inappropriate in all except the the most refractory situations,
and even then, it should never cross the line into personal
invective and dishonor.
(5c) An IETF Member apologizes appropriately in private or in public
for any offense caused to other members.
5.0 Conclusion
By every IETF member adhering to this code of conduct we can promote
the vigorous but measured exchanges required for the work we pursue
without unrequired incursions into the realm of personal invective.
This should make the IETF a more pleasant experience for all.
6.0 Security Considerations and Other Matters
Security (other than personal) is not addressed in this memo.
Canon Law regarding the use of certain auxiliary verbs ("SHOULD",
"MUST", etc) is deemed inapplicable.
7.0 Author's Address
Mike O'Dell
UUNET Technologies, Inc.
3060 Williams Drive
Fairfax, VA 22030
voice: 703-206-5890
fax: 703-206-5601
email: mo@uu.net
O'Dell 2.1 [Page 4]