From: Brian Trammell <trammell(_at_)tik(_dot_)ee(_dot_)ethz(_dot_)ch>
It does not seem appropriate for a technical standards organization
dedicated to making the Internet work better through the development
of open standards to implicitly endorse "communication protocols"
which are based on closed access to distributed databases through
interfaces that can and do change at the whim of the organizations
that control them, further where those organizations have
demonstrated a willingness to assert editorial control over the
content they disseminate.
First, let me add my cynical definitions:
"Collaborate" is when I listen to you.
"Public relations" is when *you* listen to *me*.
Let us use these terms correctly (as opposed to most usage in the
business world).
In regard to "platforms", I'm torn, because the current crop of
commercial social media is a good technique of doing PR and no doubt
would help the IETF generate public awareness. On the other hand,
having a major sector of social interaction be operated on a
completely closed platform operated by an organization with completely
commercial purposes is *exactly the opposite* of what the IETF is
attempting to accomplish.
Dale