Re: Issue: Transition rules?

[Robert Elz <kre@munnari.OZ.AU>]

    Date:        Mon, 13 Oct 2003 10:09:56 +0200
    From:        Harald Tveit Alvestrand <harald@alvestrand.no>
    Message-ID:  <22054032.1066039796@localhost>

  | I think one sensible procedure would be that it takes effect the moment the 
  | ISOC Board accepts a motion to observe that this is current IETF procedure 
  | (or some other convoluted wording), and that a sitting nomcom switch to 
  | using the rules as far as possible,

In this particular case, I see no harm from that, but in general, I
think this would be an intolerable burden to place upon the nomcom,
so, no, this would be wrong.

The rules place burdens upon the nomcom itself as well as define how it
works to select IAB and IESG members - volunteers sign up to participate
on the nomcom upon the basis of the rules that exist.   Changing the
rules mid-stream is totally unreasonable.

The rules for a nomcom need to be fixed at the point the nomcom is formed
(when the people selected agree to their selection as part of the nomcom).

Changes after that should apply to the next nomcom only.

That may make life difficult for the IETF and this particular nomcom, as
the new doc wasn't done in time for it, but as a general principle, this
is the way things should work.

The next (sigh) revision of the nomcom doc should probably make specific rules
for this kind of thing, in which case it may be reasonable to divide the
various procedures into two groups - one which can be changed at any time
and immediately effect the nomcom process from the point it is adopted, and
the other for which no changes can affect a sitting nomcom.

But it is certainly too late now for anything like that to be done for
the nomcom that is just commencing, or ulness the entire doc is to be
re-opened for scrutiny, for the current proposed revision of the procedures.

kre

ps: adopting this attitude also means I don't need to get involved in the
petty argument about exactly who's approval stamp is the one that matters...