IAB and IESG Selection, Confirmation, and Recall Process: Revision of the Nominating and Recall Committees Timeline
RFC 5078
Document | Type |
RFC - Informational
(October 2007; No errata)
Obsoleted by RFC 7437
Updates RFC 3777
Was draft-dawkins-nomcom-start-earlier (individual in gen area)
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Author | Spencer Dawkins | ||
Last updated | 2015-10-14 | ||
Stream | Internent Engineering Task Force (IETF) | ||
Formats | plain text html pdf htmlized (tools) htmlized bibtex | ||
Reviews | |||
Stream | WG state | (None) | |
Document shepherd | No shepherd assigned | ||
IESG | IESG state | RFC 5078 (Informational) | |
Action Holders |
(None)
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Consensus Boilerplate | Unknown | ||
Telechat date | |||
Responsible AD | Russ Housley | ||
Send notices to | (None) |
Network Working Group S. Dawkins Request for Comments: 5078 Huawei (USA) Updates: 3777 October 2007 Category: Informational IAB and IESG Selection, Confirmation, and Recall Process: Revision of the Nominating and Recall Committees Timeline Status of This Memo This memo provides information for the Internet community. It does not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of this memo is unlimited. Abstract RFC 3777 defines the Nominations and Recall Committee's (NomCom's) operation, and includes a sample timeline for major steps in the NomCom process that meets the minimum normative requirements for the process. Recent NomComs have been scheduling based on the sample timeline, and the chairs of the last three NomComs -- Danny McPherson (2004-2005), Ralph Droms (2005-2006), and Andrew Lange (2006-2007) -- have all reported that this timeline is very aggressive and suggested starting earlier. This document restructures the sample timeline, but makes no normative process changes. Table of Contents 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2. The Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3. Interaction with IETF Face-to-Face Meeting Schedule . . . . . . 3 4. Proposed Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 5. Sample Timeline for 2008-2009 NomCom Schedule . . . . . . . . . 4 6. Some Observations from the 2007-2008 NomCom Experience . . . . 6 7. Out-of-Scope Suggestions Requiring Normative Text Changes . . . 6 8. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 9. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 10. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Dawkins Informational [Page 1] RFC 5078 NomCom Starting Earlier October 2007 1. Introduction RFC 3777 ([RFC3777]) is a complete specification of the process by which members of the IAB and IESG are selected, confirmed, and recalled as of the date of its approval. [RFC3777] includes normative requirements for timing allowed for the various steps, and also includes an informative appendix, Appendix B, that contains a timeline based on the normative text. The normative time requirements in [RFC3777] are end-of-task, so adjusting the informative timeline to get an earlier start does not require changes to the normative text in [RFC3777]. In IETF 68, IETF 65, and IETF 62 plenary reports, NomCom chairs suggested starting the NomCom cycle earlier. This document describes a timeline that meets this need, replacing RFC 3777, Appendix B, and makes no other changes to [RFC3777]. 2. The Problem There are several reasons that have been cited for the schedule pressures reported by recent NomComs. o A few common practices are not accounted for in the Appendix B timeline [RFC3777]. For example, it is common to allow a week for notifying unsuccessful nominees before the formal announcement is made. This is not included in the timeline. o Some tasks just seem to take longer than the minimum interval. For example, a public "call for volunteers" must be open for 30 days, but the list of voting NomCom participants probably isn't announced at midnight on the 30th day. Anecdotal evidence is that allowing about 6 weeks is more consistent with recent experience. o The NomCom, and the community it serves, tends to celebrate a variety of holidays between the third IETF and the first IETF of the next year, so people may be out of the office, may wait to respond, etc. o The Appendix B timeline does not provide flexibility in case of problems. For example, the NomCom chair "reset" the random selection of volunteers for the 2006-2007 NomCom, requiring another seven-day delay for the announcement of the date of random selection. All of these reasons can be accommodated by simply starting earlier than is absolutely required. Dawkins Informational [Page 2] RFC 5078 NomCom Starting Earlier October 2007 3. Interaction with IETF Face-to-Face Meeting Schedule In addition to these reasons for schedule pressure, it's worth noting that the NomCom schedule and the IETF face-to-face meeting cycle don't complement each other. o When the NomCom volunteers are selected after the second IETF, they don't have an opportunity to meet face-to-face and "get organized" until the third IETF, when they should be winding up their deliberations. This missed opportunity forces them to use teleconferences and other less efficient means of communicationsShow full document text