Re: Liaisons interoperation with NOMCOM members

[Dave Crocker <dhc@dcrocker.net>]

Donald,

DE3> I have never encoutered any problem, as a member of serveral NOMCOMs or
DE3> chair of one, with Liaisons.

Whereas others (yes, including me) *have* encountered some problems.

And the really interesting part about the problems is that they flowed
from some very natural situations in which everybody was working hard at
being helpful.

In other words, this is not about nefarious intent and it is not even
about liaisons who are personally problematic.

It is about the potential for distorting the process with nothing but
the best of intentions.

Liaisons inherently have an extremely large amount of power. They are
the experts. They are the folks doing the job of running the IETF. They
deserve the respect the rest of the committee gives them.

But liaisons who are too active in the process will naturally convert
"respect" to become "deference". And anything that causes Nomcom members
to defer to the Liaisons spells the end of the independence that is
essential in the Nomcom process.

When we have a Nomcom that is substantially laced with highly
experienced IETF people, there is at least a counterbalancing force. The
influence of Liaisons can still be at least distracting, but at least it
is mitigated.

When the Nomcom is notably less experienced, the influence has nothing
moderating it.

A Nomcom process needs to be pristine.

Having Liaisons who participate in candidate and community interviews,
who participate actively in the direct Nomcom deliberations and who take
partisan positions for or against various candidates is simply not
appropriate.


>>   Bottom line IESG or
>> IAB should not have any extra or more influence on the actual decision
>> than anyone else that NOMCOM will speak with in the community.

DE3> This is nonsense.

And therein lies the core issue.  Should the IESG and IAB have more
leverage than the rest of the community, when choosing folks to work on
the IAB or IESG?

My own view is that it is nonsense to think that the needs and desires
of the rest of the community are less important.


DE3> One of the reasons the IAB and IESG Liaison are
DE3> present is so that their experience as to how the IAB and IESG actually
DE3> operate can be called on.

That's a reporting job.  Not a lobbying job.

It is about information, not "influence."


d/


ps.  Personally I'm not particularly concerned about the Liaisons'
presence as much as their activity.


--
 Dave Crocker <mailto:dcrocker@brandenburg.com>
 Brandenburg InternetWorking <http://www.brandenburg.com>
 Sunnyvale, CA  USA <tel:+1.408.246.8253>, <fax:+1.866.358.5301>