[rfc-i] some direct links beterrn "motivations" and "overview"

[ajs at shinkuro.com (Andrew Sullivan)]

Dear colleagues,

I apologise that I have been unable to have a look at
draft-kowack-rfc-editor-model-v2-motivations-00.txt (henceforth,
"motivations") until now.  December was just too busy.  I have read
it, but only once, and only on Monday, so perhaps more reflection will
give me a fuller appreciation.

To begin with, I want to thank Glenn for writing "motivations".  It
was helpful to me in thinking about
draft-kowack-rfc-editor-model-v2-overview-00.txt (henceforth,
"overview").

I thought that it might be useful to go through the areas of
responsibility in section 4.2 of "overview" and try to point to some
justification in "motivations".  I previously suggested that Glenn's
experiences as the TRSE seemed particularly valuable in justifying the
particular recommendations.  So, I thought I would start with that,
even though in my review of "overview" I argued that the areas in
section 4.2 were not quite right.

In this note, I try to identify items in "overview" that are supported
by particular experiences or examples in "motivations".  That is,
these items are all examples of something that Glenn had to do in his
role as RSE, on my reading of the two I-Ds.  I want to note especially
that I am avoiding talking about things for which there is an argument
in "motivations" as a result of some other observation or conclusion.
In other words, this list is supposed to be the uncontroversial one.

I'll treat the items in section 4.2 of "overview" according to their
numbered subsections, but I won't treat the sublists in order as they
appeared, because I will skip items for which I don't find a direct
example in "motivations".

4.2.1:

   o  advising service provider management when existing policies appear
      to be insufficient,

This bullet was clearly supported by "motivations" section 3.4.1.

   o  handling complaints, exceptions, and unexpected events such as
      escalation procedures, and

I thought this bullet was supported by "motivations" sections 3.4.2
and 3.4.3.

   o  organizing and leading meetings, including RFC Editor internet
      meetings, as well as coordination meetings (including, e.g.,
      telechats) with the streams (production-side customers).

It wasn't entirely clear to me, but I think this bullet was supported
by "motivations" section 3.2.1.

4.2.2:

   o  improve RFC Editor services to improve quality, reduce costs, or
      improve service to customers, and

I think this bullet is supported by "motivations" section 3.4.2.

4.2.3:

   o  ensuring availability of the Series, including refinement of the
      community model of universal RFC access, and that the RFC Series
      is accessible via conventional means, such as electronic card
      catalogs, and ISSN numbers, which must be kept current,

I think this bullet is supported by "motivations" section 3.4.2.

4.2.4:

   o  provide all necessary points of contact and services to support
      policy inputs and questions from the community, including
      production-side and end-user customers,

This one is a little tricky, because "motivations" actually suggests
that the Production Center deals directly with the community (which
presumably means its questions):

   The Production Center has its own director, an AMS staff member.  She
   manages the day-to-day activity of the editorial staff, including
   document assignments and customer interaction.

Perhaps the text in "overview" section 4.2.4 is supposed to be parsed
as "policy (inputs and questions) from the community".  Assuming
that's the intention, then the support for this is in sections
3.4.1-3.4.3 in "motivations".  The support is still, I think, a little
weak, since the "overview" language is "_all_ necessary points of
contact" (emphasis mine).  Perhaps a quantifier a little less
universal would help.

   o  take part in (or delegate attendance at) formal meetings,
      telechats, and other communications among entities (e.g., IESG and
      IAB), as well as general meetings such as the IETF, or retreats,
      as required,

This is supported by section 3.4 of "motivations".

4.2.5:

I include this heading for completeness, but if there is in
"motivations" an account of an experience that directly corresponds to
either of these bullets, I missed it.

For any bullet in section 4.2 of "overview" that I haven't mentioned,
I was not able to find a particular example in "motivations" that
supported its inclusion.  This is not to say that there aren't
arguments, but I want to turn to a different argument in "motivations"
first.  I'll do that in a different message.

Best regards,

Andrew

-- 
Andrew Sullivan
ajs at shinkuro.com
Shinkuro, Inc.