Re: Internet 2020 Goals

[Ofer Inbar <[e-mail]>]

IMO this tangent is off track.

The goal wasn't to "predict" anything, but rather to state the
vision we want to pursue.  So it's misguided to critique that on
the basis that lots of people make predictions and are often wrong.
Having goals and trying to pursue them is not the same as guessing
what will happen.

The critique that it's pointless for the IETF to have a vision because
it can't meaningfully pursue it is more applicable, but I think it's
mistaken.  It'd be more true to say that the IETF cannot make such a
vision happen on its own.

Whatever the Internet becomes will be guided by money and time and
ideas.  By policy and by software and by design and protocol work
and applications and laws and other things.  All have roles to play.
And by ideas - the development, articulation, and spreading of ideas.

IETF is influential in one corner of this, but it's a significant
corner.  If the IETF does put out a clear vision, and if IETF people
do use that vision to guide their design and engineering work, it
can certainly contribute to guiding the Internet towards that vision.

In addition to actual IETF work, the IETF is a nexus of people
involved in all the other aspects of the Internet, so it's not
a bad forum to hash out such a vision in order to give it credence
in other circles.  Other people can than take that and use it
elsewhere, at their employers or in their government agencies, etc.
  -- Cos