JM> there are times JM> when _technical_ decisions have significant impact on public policy JM> concerns. I believe that neither the IETF nor the public are well JM> served by ignoring (or being unaware of) those potential impacts. 1. it is hard to imagine that the minimal formatting requirements in force for ietf documents pose a meaningful barrier to serious input of any kind. 2. whether, and when, the ietf should participate in public policy debates is, itself, a matter of debate. possibly even a worthy one. JM> Can the requirements be satisfied using MS Word and the multistep JM> production/post-processing procedures? Absolutely. There is even JM> evidence that some lawyers can do it. But it is not "easy" to JM> non-techies who seldom work within the standards world. 1. c.f., your statement above about acquiring some of the appearance of a natural inhabitant, to blend into the environment. 2. anyone who thinks the ietf formatting requirements are not easy has not had to deal with very interesting formatting requirements. d/ -- Dave Crocker <mailto:dcrocker@brandenburg.com> Brandenburg InternetWorking <http://www.brandenburg.com> Sunnyvale, CA USA <tel:+1.408.246.8253>, <fax:+1.866.358.5301>