Re: Possible BofF question -- I18n (was: Re: Possible OBF question -- I18n)

[John C Klensin <[e-mail]>]

(obvious subject line type corrected -- more below)

--On Wednesday, May 30, 2018 19:11 -0400 John Levine
<[e-mail]> wrote:

>> If this sounds useful and you have anything to contribute,
>> especially procedural or "where do we find the experts"
>> advice, please speak up within the next 24-48 hours.
> 
> I'm certainly interested and agree that a BOF makes sense if
> there are more than the two of us there.
> 
> I'm also in the willing to do the work if there were someone
> who would pay me to do it camp.

What work?  

I could say exactly the same thing and would certainly be able
to put a lot more energy into i18n issues if I had any support
for that work at all.  

However, I note that various combinations of Asmus Freytag,
Patrik Fältström, Andrew Sullivan, and I have produced drafts
that relate to at least the IDN parts of the problem (some of
them also have PRECIS implications) and have let them expire
because there appeared to be no way to get them processed.  I
also note that Peter St. Andre finished up the initial PRECIS
docs and then a set of revisions with very little input or
review from the community.

I don't know where the day jobs or other sources of support of
any of those people fall on a scale between "strongly support
and expect" and "tolerate, mostly on your own time" where IETF
i18n work is concerned, but I suspect it is closer to the latter
for at least most.  In my case, I've had zero specific support
for i18n work in the IETF in over a decade (and that includes
the time when I was writing documents for, and then co-chairing,
EAI.    I also know that the IAB made some statements some years
back that appeared to be commitments to find resources for this
work and that nothing every happened and that I've been told by
several sources that finding companies willing to put major
resources into this area is _very_ hard.  So making a plan that
is continent on someone showing up with a pot of money seems
unwise.

So my alternate hypothesis and reason for floating the BOF idea
starts by assuming that, whether people can find some small
amount of support or are dumb and/or committed enough to do the
work anyway, the needed documents can and will be written and
hence that the problem is getting adequate review to convince
the IESG and the IETF community that those documents have been
sufficiently checked and vetted to make publication --including
as standards track when appropriate -- plausible and a
reasonable expectation.

best,
   john