Re: Last Call: <draft-hoffman-tao4677bis-15.txt> (The Tao of IETF: A Novice's Guide to the Internet Engineering Task Force) to Informational RFC

[Paul Hoffman <[e-mail]>]

On May 30, 2012, at 11:22 PM, Eliot Lear wrote:

> 	• I've been told by some that the Mission of the IETF is in some way out of date.  I don't know whether this is true, but if it is, the reference should be removed.

As others pointed out, it is a BCP, it is the only BCP we have that covers the mission, so it should probably stay.

> 	• It's probably worth adding a word or two about the fact that the ISOC Board is the final appellate avenue in the standardization process.  In this way it may also make sense to move Section 3.2.1 further back behind the IAB.

I have heard that as well, but cannot find it in RFC 2026 or any of the RFCs that update 2026 (3667 3668 3932 3978 3979 5378 5657 5742 6410). It should only be in the Tao if we can point to where the rule comes from.

> 	• I don't know about anyone else, but my experience has changed with regard to there being a "fair amount of time for socializing".  I would say there is a modest amount of time for socializing.

I have met with many first-timers at IETF meetings, and they have a fair amount of time for socializing. The more meetings you go to, the less time you have to socialize. I have added "for many participants" to the sentence.

> 	• The Tao mentions that we meet once a year in each region.  I don't think that's true for Asia at this point.  The text might call out that we meet where there are participants, or words that the IAOC might provide.

It doesn't say that. It says "approximately once a year in each region". That is still true.

> 	• The last paragraph in Section 4 is outdated.  Everyone uses wireless these days– everywhere at nearly every meeting.

Good catch.

> 	• 4.12 really should be a top level section (moved further back).

This was a conscious decision made for the last Tao: put it in the middle to give the reader a sense of what the can do.

> 	• Section 5 (Working Groups) really should be moved forward (after Section 3 but before what is now Section 4).

The Tao is still normally read by people coming to their first meeting, not by someone participating for the first time on a WG mailing list.

> 	• Move acknowledgments to the back.  As it stands that text forms a disconnect between the Intro and later sections.

Done.

--Paul Hoffman