Subject: [secdir] [new-work] WG Review: Effective Terminology in IETF Documents (term)

From: The IESG <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2021 10:06:00 -0700

A new IETF WG has been proposed in the General Area. The IESG has not made
any determination yet. The following draft charter was submitted, and is
provided for informational purposes only. Please send your comments to the
IESG mailing list ([email-masked]) by 2021-04-05.

Effective Terminology in IETF Documents (term)
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Current status: Proposed WG

Chairs:
  TBD

Assigned Area Director:
  Lars Eggert <[email-masked]>

General Area Directors:
  Lars Eggert <[email-masked]>

Mailing list:
  Address: [email-masked]
  To subscribe: https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/terminology
  Archive: https://mailarchive.ietf.org/arch/browse/terminology/

Group page: https://datatracker.ietf.org/group/term/

Charter: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/charter-ietf-term/

The mission of the IETF as specified in BCP 95 is to produce high quality,
relevant technical documents that influence the way people design, use, and
manage the Internet. IETF documents, including RFCs and Internet-Drafts, are
most effective when they use terminology that is clear, precise, and widely
accessible to readers from varying backgrounds and cultures. This maximizes
the benefits the IETF derives from its core principles, such as its open
process and volunteer core.

In the years leading up to the chartering of this working group, there has
been discussion in the IETF, in other standards organizations, and in the
technology industry about the use of certain terms (such as "master/slave"
and "blacklist/whitelist") in technical documentation and whether those and
other terms have effects on inclusivity. While opinions vary among IETF
participants about this topic, there is general agreement that the IETF
community would benefit from informational recommendations about using
effective and inclusive terminology in IETF documents.

The TERM working group is therefore chartered to produce an Informational RFC
containing recommendations on the use of inclusive terminology in the
technical work produced by IETF participants. The RFC will express general
principles for assessing when language is inclusive or exclusive. The
principles should match the expectations from a diverse set of IETF
participants. The WG will identify and recommend an external,
independently-updated resource containing examples of potentially problematic
terms and potential alternatives to IETF participants, in order to align its
efforts with broader activities by the technology industry.

The TERM working group is a focused group aiming to produce a single
deliverable. It is designed to complement other efforts at fostering
inclusivity in the IETF and will liaise with appropriate external groups,
such as other SDOs or industry initiatives, to coordinate.

Milestones:

  Jun 2021 - Adopt draft providing informational terminology recommendations

  Dec 2021 - Submit informational terminology recommendations to IESG

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