(For "Members of the IETF" we can substitute "People who are subscribed to
the IETF Discussion list", if people think that is needed in place of the
technically somewhat nebulous "Members of the IETF".)
If you really want to limit it to people subscribed to the list, forget the
boilerplate, just configure Mailman differently.
With the text above, don't be surprised when people learn that they can
become bona fide IETF members by subscribing to the IETF discussion list and
the new subscription volume swells exponentially. Given the contents of many
of the letters received on the patent issue, I would expect the majority of
those people to be willing, and capable of, subscribing to the IETF list in
order to submit a comment.
Also, don't be surprised when the next time this issue arises, the FSF
encourages people to join the IETF WG discussing the next patent-encumbered
draft.
Fundamentally, the IETF is a legislative body crafting legislation that
allows people to share intellectual property confident that they have the
legal right to do so and that the risks from such sharing are minimized.
Lobbying is fundamental to lawmaking. The roots of the IETF process are in
the 1960's when people enhanced western democratic models with native
American democratic models in which all voices are heard. Perhaps the
solution to this type of issue is to solicit those voices earlier in the
process, and then if there is no consensus, drop any further discussion of
the draft. Patent issues affect more than just the select few who
participate in IETF WGs and meetings.
--Michael Dillon
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