Re: yet another comment on draft-housley-tls-authz-extns-07.txt

[Stephan Wenger <[e-mail]>]

Hi Simon,


On 2/11/09 4:43 PM, "Simon Josefsson" <[e-mail]> wrote:

> Stephan Wenger <[e-mail]> writes:
> 
>> [...]
>> The way to address this misalignment is to work in the IETF
>> towards an FSF-compatible patent regime, and not rant about one specific
>> draft that somehow got on the FSF's campaign radar.  The best way, IMO, to
>> work towards such a regime, would be that FSF activists, instead of wasting
>> their time on mailbombing, invent great new concepts, protocols, and write
>> them down in the form of Internet drafts, and make them freely available in
>> the IETF and elsewhere.
> 
> That's not possible because the IETF policies does not permit free
> software compatible licensing on Internet drafts published by the IETF.
> 
> /Simon

I don't understand why inventing, designing protocols, and writing their
specification down in the form of Internet Drafts according to the IETF
policies would necessarily be incompatible with what some people call "free
software".  With a bit of flexibility and good will on both sides, I view
this as entirely possible.  The IETF can conduct process experiments if
those were required, including an experiment of temporarily suspending
certain features of its policies.  And, perhaps, the "free software" people
could be a little bit more relaxed in insisting on licensing terms of their
initial phases of contributions to the IETF.  I'm personally willing to
support such an effort, even I do not see an immediate benefit for myself.

Let me offer two alternatives:

1. People can attempt to make the IETF process more aligned with the
requirements of this "free software" movement---but please not through
mindless mail-bombing.  I think that both you and me understand that
entertaining an IETF policy initiative is much more an uphill battle if the
activist's actual technical contributions to the IETF are small or
non-existent, but still---the avenue is available.

2. Alternatively, and this is, of course, my preference, the same people can
attempt to make this so-called "free software" movement a little bit more
aligned with the requirements of the Real World.

Regards,
Stephan