Re: RFC Series Editor (RSE) Statement of Work

[Bob Hinden <[e-mail]>]

Brian,

> On Jul 22, 2019, at 8:52 AM, Brian E Carpenter <[e-mail]> wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> 
> There's something I've found myself saying to a couple of people in Montreal that I think is worth repeating here:
> 
> The RFC Series Editor has always been treated as a senior colleague, and part of our community leadership; never as a hired hand, because it isn't the sort of job that can easily be measured or priced. Obviously, as a practical matter, the RSE has to be paid for their time and expenses, but it really doesn't matter whether that's as an employee, an individual contractor, or via their existing employer. That's basically a clerical matter, once the right person has been identified.
> 
> I now think that the notion of a pre-defined statement of work and a competitive bidding process is *completely* inappropriate. What we should do, IMHO, is identify the right person by a search process with a well-informed search committee, and then leave IETF LLC to figure out any necessary employment or contractual details later.
> 
> Obviously there will be a finite budget limit that the search committee will bear in mind. But we aren't trying to find the cheapest RSE; we're trying to find the best one.

I also agree.

I don’t think the groups that brought us to the current situation, should be the ones who take the lead in running the process to find the next RSE.  It’s not clear to me that they have the required skills and knowledge, based on several recent actions they have taken.

There is a quote sometimes attributed to Albert Einstein that applies here.

Bob