Re: [mif] The formation of the design team

[Ted Lemon <[e-mail]>]

On Apr 3, 2013, at 12:26 PM, Brian E Carpenter <[e-mail]> wrote:
> I think the real question is whether the architecture issue
> that underlies MIF can actually be solved within the limits
> of an IETF WG. But certainly the first stage is to produce a
> clear statement of what the issue is, and I would press the
> design team to bring that statement back to the WG *before*
> considering possible solutions.

Work that the IETF does has to be done in working groups, or as individual submissions, or by the IAB or the IESG.   Are you proposing that this work should be done in one of those other ways, rather than by the MIF working group, which was chartered to do this work and has already written a problem statement?   I don't think you were at the MIF meeting, so you may not have heard my presentation on this, but the slides are available, and I think the session was recorded.

Ultimately, we definitely need something for the rest of the IETF, not just MIF, to review, but we have to have something for the IETF *to* review; that is the point.

Michael did raise the question of whether this is really a design team, or the entire working group.   This is something that I discussed with the MIF chairs as well.   It's difficult to say; if everybody on the list winds up being an active participant, then maybe Michael is correct.   I personally doubt that's so.

However, it may be that you or Michael are concerned that process isn't being followed.   It could be argued that the meeting Hui announced is really an interim working group meeting and not a design team meeting.   If that's the case, then the two week notice requirement applies.

I don't have a strong preference for keeping this as a design team thing if people object.   I doubt the chairs do either.   It's certainly easier to schedule meetings if it's just a design team, and I think it's legitimate to claim that it's a design team.   But, frankly, you have more experience with this sort of thing than I do; if in your expert opinion this is an interim working group meeting and not a design team meeting, I think we ought to take that seriously.

But as for the question of where to do the work, I think at least for the moment, unless you have some serious proposal to make, MIF is in fact the right place.