[secdir] What and who is SecDir?

[Barry Leiba <[e-mail]>]

Over in the "secdir review of draft-kuegler-ipsecme-pace-ikev2"
thread, Paul and Nico had this exchange, which I don't want to see
lost in that thread that not everyone will be reading:

Nico:
>>> "We", secdir, are volunteers.  This volunteer would rather avoid wheel
>>> reinvention, and this volunteer, perhaps naively, had hoped others
>>> would agree.  Perhaps other volunteers disagree (you do).  I
>>> explicitly referred to secdir, not WG chairs, not ADs, nor did I refer
>>> to actual current practice, but rather stated an opinion of what we
>>> ought to do.

Paul:
>> Most people on secdir are here because they are chairs of WGs in the Security
>> Area. Maybe you are thinking of the old secdir model. :-)

Nico:
> Perhaps I don't belong here any longer then?  And yes, I'm thinking of
> the old secdir model.  When was it abandoned?  (We both seem to be out
> of date then regarding secdir practices!)

As I see it -- and the ADs can chime in if they see it differently --
Nico and Paul are both right.  We are volunteers who want to see
security issues in IETF protocols brought up and discussed, and who
are willing to help do that through reviews and discussion.  The group
is seeded with the chairs from the sec-area WGs, but it doesn't
comprise those chairs exclusively.  And I, at least, wouldn't like it
to.

For my part, I certainly think, Nico, that you do still belong here.
I'd hate to see people leave this directorate just because they no
longer chair any sec-area WGs.  That we don't always agree, as a
group, and that there are sometimes arguments about the
appropriateness of one reviewers comments, from the point of view of
another, is only natural.  If those disagreements lead to interesting,
useful discussions (even if they briefly become "arguments", and
sometimes get a bit heated), that's all the better.  No part of the
IETF is strife-free.  Just so long as we leave the twibills back in
the armory.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teMlv3ripSM

Barry