On May 14, 2013, at 9:58 AM, "Cullen Jennings (fluffy)"
<fluffy(_at_)cisco(_dot_)com> wrote:
2) On the point of what the IESG should be doing, I would like to see the
whole IESG say they agree with the Discuss Criteria document and will stay
within that (or change it if they disagree). The cross area review teams
might want to also provide comments within this context.
I am not entirely convinced that the DISCUSS criteria are complete. There are
some rules in the criteria that are intended to curb abuse, and that I think do
have that effect, but that also would make some very appropriate DISCUSSes fail
to meet the criteria. I don't really know how to address that problem. E.g.
the rule about not coming up with new DISCUSSes: if a DISCUSS winds opening up
a can of worms, it ought to be possible to enlarge the DISCUSS, but I think
that the rule about not adding new DISCUSSes after the first DISCUSS tends to
forbid that, and the reason given is a good one. Having said that, I don't
think the right answer is to ignore that requirement. I don't actually have a
good answer.
It's worth noting that ADs are not omniscient, and hence the DISCUSS criteria
apply to what the AD entering the DISCUSS _knows_, not to the full state of all
knowledge in the world. If someone other than the AD has knowledge that they
think means that the DISCUSS doesn't meet the criteria, that doesn't mean the
DISCUSS doesn't mean the criteria. In this case, the critic needs to
communicate it to the AD, who may or may not agree with the critic's point of
view. This is not to say that it's never correct to say "this doesn't meet
the DISCUSS criteria." But the reason given should be that it would be
obvious to anyone reading the DISCUSS that it didn't meet the criteria. The
critic's expert knowledge can't be given as a reason.
I have also noticed that some authors have the impression that a DISCUSS means
the AD doesn't like the document, or doesn't want the document to advance, or
is a non-negotiable pronouncement from on high that the authors should not
question. This is certainly not my motivation when I enter a DISCUSS. I'm
just some guy who got nominated by the nomcom. Hopefully I'm qualified, but I
don't claim to be right. I have seen DISCUSSes I've raised improve documents,
and I've seen DISCUSSes I've raised turn out not to require any change, but
just some discussion to clear up a misunderstanding on my part. I very much
hope that in the latter case, the author will argue back, and not just make a
change to shut me up!
The reason I raise a DISCUSS rather than a comment is that at the time I'm
writing the DISCUSS, it appears _to me_ to be the case that there is a problem
that ought to be addressed before the document is published. I may think it's
generally a great document, but I want the concern I've raised to be addressed
before it moves forward. That is _all_ a DISCUSS from me means. If I think
the document is an irretrievably bad idea, I will abstain, and say why I think
so.