Re: As Promised, an attempt at 2026bis

On  the issue  of whether  we have  a de  facto one-step  process,  the real
question is not  whether subsequent steps are ever  invoked, but whether the
subsequent steps  actually have any  practical impact on the  Internet.  One
can certainly  point to a  handful of cases  where the subsequent  steps are
invoked,  but the  point is  that  it makes  no difference  to the  Internet
whether the  subsequent steps are  invoked or not.   So I think it  is quite
accurate to say that we have a de facto one-step process. 

It is thus logical for advocates of the one-step process to argue that we in
fact have more  or less what we  need, and to be skeptical  of anything that
might result in giving more credence  to (or even calling more attention to)
the subsequent steps.

The real problem with the process  is that a protocol can be widely deployed
in multiple interoperable implementations for  six or seven years before its
specification even achieves  this one step.  This can  happen because the WG
gets inundated with idiots, and/or because companies are using the IETF as a
marketing  battleground,  and/or  because  the IESG  deliberately  tries  to
obstruct progress, and/or because the security ADs require you to figure out
the insanely complicated endsystem-oriented security architecture so you can
explain why  you don't need to  adhere to it.   I'm pretty sure there  is no
IESG-wide consensus on how to address  these issues, but if one has suffered
through any of these multiple year  delays, one is likely to oppose anything
that reeks  of "more process".  This can  lead one to be  suspicious even of
writeups  that claim  to  be  "descriptive", as  the  writeups may  (whether
intended to do so or not)  serve to extend the life of various problematical
processes that might wither away faster if they were never written down.

Sometimes it's just better to leave well enough alone. 





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