In my opinion, it is a matter of Leading Edge vs. Trailing Edge.
The IETF used to be a leading edge group. It created things.
Now the IETF is a trailing edge organization. It discovers things.
One of the problems with this is that when things are discovered,
IETF members claim they created them, and only reference their
own members.
I suppose if man ever lands on Mars, some people on Earth will
claim we built Mars, and then flew there...
Jim Fleming
http://www.unir.com
Mars 128n 128e
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike O'Dell" <mo(_at_)ccr(_dot_)org>
To: <ietf(_at_)ietf(_dot_)org>
Sent: Saturday, June 23, 2001 10:35 AM
Subject: "I am a strong believer in the democratic process."
if so, you should stay far, far away from the IETF.
it is not "democratic", never has been and never should be
it is a meritocracy of a quite rude and abrasive sort
and that's neither an accident nor a bug
good ideas don't need the benefit of the doubt
if you have an idea but it isn't yet baked enough
to withstand a public proctological examination, keep working
on it in private, among yourselves, however you choose
to work, until it is baked and you can defend its
architecture and design.
THEN you can ask for a working group.
working groups attempting to design a half-baked idea
not only don't get the benefit of the doubt,
they shouldn't get the benefit of existance in the first place.
"We don't believe in kings, presidents, or voting.
We believe in rough consensus and running code."
-Dave Clark, Internet Architect
"I know rough consensus when I feel it."
-Anonymous IESG Area Director
So much for parlimentarianism.
-mo
ex-Anonymous IESG Area Director
