Subject: RE: Recommendation v Requirements [Re: The state of IPv6 multihomingdevelopment

From: "Michel Py" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 23 Oct 2002 18:52:14 -0700

Brian,

> Brian E Carpenter wrote:
> I'm sure we don't need a recharter to downgrade the
> requirements deliverable to an Informational.

I must be missing something. This is what the charter says:

> SEP 01 Submit requirements ID to IESG for publication as
> Informational RFC.  

And it has been used as an excuse for over a year to do nothing. What is
the difference with what you are proposing?

What I am talking about is removing the word "requirements". If
requirements are optional, they are not requirements. Removing
pseudo-normative language is a step in the right direction, but is not
enough, as people will endlessly argue that if there is a requirement
document that says "we must not do this" it will be almost as good as
"we MUST NOT do this" and be enough to block any solution.

Call it "recommendations", "guidelines", "framework" or come up with a
better term but not "requirements".

Michel.

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From: Brian E Carpenter <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 24 Oct 2002 14:30:03 +0200

Charters are not algorithms, and Area Directors are normally
willing to exercise common sense when a WG diverges in a
rational way from its charter. Please don't use the words in
the charter as yet another excuse for delaying output from
this WG. I have no problem with calling it 'recommendations',
'thoughts' or 'vague ideas'. The value is in the contents,
not the title.

   Brian

-- 
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Brian E Carpenter 
Distinguished Engineer, Internet Standards & Technology, IBM 
On assignment at the IBM Zurich Laboratory, Switzerland

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From: Randy Bush <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 24 Oct 2002 09:04:19 -0700

> I have no problem with calling it 'recommendations', 'thoughts'
> or 'vague ideas'. The value is in the contents, not the title.

i recommend worrying about the content and the progress far more
than about the title.

randy, with ad hat on