Re: [Iasa20] Barry Leiba's Discuss on draft-ietf-iasa2-rfc7437bis-07: (with DISCUSS and COMMENT)

[Bob Hinden <[e-mail]>]

Barry,

> On Jun 29, 2019, at 6:09 AM, Barry Leiba <[e-mail]> wrote:
> 
>> Regarding you first point:
>> 
>>>>> — Section 3.8 —
>>>>> 
>>>>> However, the following exception is permitted in the case where the
>>>>> candidate for an open position is currently a sitting member of the
>>>>> IAB.  It is consistent with these rules for the announcements of a
>>>>> resignation of a sitting member of the IAB and of the confirmed
>>>>> candidate for the mid-term vacancy created by that sitting member on
>>>>> the IAB to all occur at the same time as long as the actual sequence
>>>>> of events that occurred did so in the following order:
>>>>> 
>>>>> 1.  The NomCom completes the advice and consent process for the open
>>>>>     position being filled by the candidate currently sitting on the
>>>>>     IAB.
>>>>> 
>>>>> 2.  The newly confirmed candidate resigns from their current position
>>>>>     on the IAB.
>>>>> 
>>>>> 3.  The IAB Chair (or the Managing Director, IETF Secretariat, if no
>>>>>     Chair has been named or the vacancy was created via the departure
>>>>>     of the IAB Chair) informs the NomCom of the mid-term vacancy.
>>>>> 
>>>>> 4.  The NomCom acts on the request to fill the mid-term vacancy.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Either I don’t understand what this is saying or I don’t understand how it’s
>>>>> possible.  Paraphrasing, the first paragraph says that it’s OK for the
>>>>> announcement of the sitting IAB member’s resignation to happen at the same time
>>>>> as the announcement of that member’s confirmed replacement.  That means that at
>>>>> the time of the resignation, the NomCom already had to have selected the
>>>>> replacement, given that selection to the confirming body, and had it confirmed.
>>>>> Which means that step 4 had to have happened before step 2, or at least before
>>>>> step 3, no?
>> 
>> I think what these steps are saying that the steps need to be done in this order.  For
>> example, even though the NomCom might think there will be an opening on the IAB
>> because they just appointed a sitting IAB member to, for example, an IESG position,
>> they can’t fill that open position until the person resigned from the IAB and after they
>> have heard from the IAB Chair that there is a mid-term vacancy.  Then the NomCom
>> can act to fill the vacancy.
> 
> I get that.  And, so, in that case, how can "the announcements of a
> resignation of a sitting member of the IAB and of the confirmed
> candidate for the mid-term vacancy created by that sitting member on
> the IAB to all occur at the same time", given that earlier in Section
> 3.8 it says this:
> 
>   The resignation should be effective as of when the term of the new
>   position begins.  The resignation may remain confidential to the
>   IESG, IAB, IETF Trust, IETF LLC Board, and NomCom until the confirmed
>   candidate is announced for the new position.  The process, according
>   to rules set out elsewhere in this document, of filling the seat
>   vacated by the confirmed candidate may begin as soon as the vacancy
>   is publicly announced.

> That seems to say that the NomCom can't begin the selection process
> for the replacement until the vacancy is publicly announced.  So I'm
> trying to understand exactly what "exception" is being explained in
> the text I originally quoted, and I don't see how the four-step
> ordered process changes the effect of the text immediately above this.
> That's what I'm trying to understand.

I am reading this differently, it says "The resignation may remain confidential”.  This allows the candidate to be confirmed but not announced.   I read the IAB exception to allow all of the steps to be taken and then make the announcement when it is all completed.

I note this text is original to RFC7437, so unless we have heard from a NomCom that this has causing a significant NomCom problem, I continue to think that we shouldn’t change it as part of the IASA 2.0 work.

Bob



> 
> Barry