Re: What I was trying to say in the plenary last week

[Russ White <ruwhite@cisco.com>]

> > publish the
> >list of nominees that the NomCom is considering seriously, so that
> >the entire community has the chance to comment (confidentially).
> >This will have some unpleasant side-effects (more mail for NomCom to
> >read, and no doubt some ad hominem attacks) but I think it will
> >increase transparency to the point where lack of confidence in
> >NomCom's judgement is much less likely.
> 
> There are some very serious risks in this approach. How can
> you prevent the process becoming one of a pseudo popularity
> contest?

You have to trust the nomcom to filter the feedback based on the
amount and the people giving it. It's already that way, really,
you just don't see it. A lot of the current process is: "So, x
said <blah> about y. I wonder why? What's the motive? What can I
_really_ get from this information?"

You quite often learn more about the people giving the feedback
than the candidates themselves. :-)

> Your message appears to follow the line of reasoning that, on
> the assumption that the Nomcom is somehow untrustworthy,
> forcing the process into a public parading of candidates
> will, somehow, correct this. 

No, not really--you're trying to balance confidentiality with
getting feedback. Nomcom heard it from both sides this year--some
people said: "You obviously didn't get enough feedback!" and
others said: "You spread the names around too far--you broke
confidentiality!" So, do we cut back on feedback solicited, or
modify the confidentiality rule?

Suppose, for instance, that you are dealing with the routing ad
slot. Let's look at who all you ask for feedback from:

-- Current ad and previous ad's: 5 or 6 people
-- Current wg chairs: about 25 people
-- Current big draft writers in the working groups:
   about 20-30 people
-- IAB folks: ??
-- Others: ??

So, we're talking about asking for input from 50 to 60 people.
Just how secret is this list of people, exactly?

In other words, confidentiality is getting in the way of getting
feedback. Which is more important--feedback or confidentiality?

:-)

Russ


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riw@cisco.com CCIE <>< Grace Alone