Re: [Gendispatch] draft charter text: terminology-related WG

[Bron Gondwana <[e-mail]>]

On Fri, Feb 12, 2021, at 07:39, Sean Turner wrote:
> Hi!,
> 
> Here is some proposed charter text to address the terminology-related WG.
> 

Thanks, this looks really good.  I gave some feedback on an earlier version of this, and it looks like every edit has improved it.

> The mission of the IETF as specified in BCP 95 is to produce high quality, relevant technical documents that influence the way people design, use, and manage the Internet. As RFC 7322 explains, "The ultimate goal of the RFC publication process is to produce documents that are readable, clear, consistent, and reasonably uniform." RFCs and Internet-drafts are most effective when they use terminology that is clear, precise, and widely accessible to readers from varying backgrounds and cultures.

This is fantastic.  It's grounded in the underlying purpose of the IETF, and it's clear about why this work is being undertaken.

> In the years leading up to the chartering of this working group, there has been discussion in the IETF, in other standards organizations, and in the technology industry about the use of certain terms (such as “master/slave” and “blacklist/whitelist”) in technical documentation and whether those and other terms have effects on inclusivity. While opinions vary among IETF participants about this topic, there is general agreement that the IETF community would benefit from informational recommendations about using effective and inclusive terminology in IETF documents. 

I hadn't suggested naming specific terms, but seeing them there I think that having the examples improves this charter, because specific cases are always more useful than generic, all encompassing phrases ("certain terms") in isolation.

> The TERM working group is therefore chartered to produce an Informational RFC containing recommendations on terminology to use in technical work produced by the IETF. 

I was holding out for ETERM (not to be confused with the enlightenment terminal manager) :p

Cheers,

Bron.

--
  Bron Gondwana, CEO, Fastmail Pty Ltd
  [e-mail]