Mike,
I'm going to go off on a tangent. This is only peripherally related to
the other topic.
One of the other things that comes up with the IETF from time to time is
how to make the IETF more open and welcoming to newcomers. The IETF has
a *lot* of unwritten rules - perhaps more than most organizations.
*IMHO*, that may make it more difficult for newcomers to figure out how
things work and where they can push or pull to effect change - there's a
lot of anecdotal evidence that this may be the case. I would also tend
to believe that written rules with plain meanings (that are mostly
followed) tend to level the playing field for those just joining.
(A quick google search - "written vs unwritten rules newcomers" finds
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/battah-workplace-rules-1.3274856
for example - there are a lot of others in this space)
So I'm not so sure that the above is a universal truth. Both you and
Andrew (and me FWIW) are long term participants and tend to know where
the levers are. I wonder if those just joining us would agree?
The question of "unwritten rules" comes up in the mentoring program quite a
bit, so I wrote the following:
https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-elkins-ietf-unwritten-rules-values/
Would love to have your comments,
Nalini Elkins
IETF Mentoring Program