I think it is time to redefine consensus.
What we need for a standard is a group of people with a reasonable degree of skill in the art who agree on a common plan.
no. the protocol doesn't just affect those "with a reasonable degree of skill in the art".
(as if one could define "which art" were relevant...)
That is not necessarily the same as 'working group consensus'.
For example if there is a protocol where there is a divergence of opinion on the correct way to proceed and one group can agrree on a coherent plan then it goes forward.
no. at least, not with the expectation that the work will ever be found acceptable. if there is a divergence of opinion it is highly likely (though not certain) that there is a fundamental lack of understanding on both sides that needs to be resolved before real progress can be made. any work done without that understanding is likely to be flawed and the investment in that work likely to be wasted.
If there are two groups with coherent plans then the way forward depends
on whether we are talking about an infrastructure protocol such as BGP
or DNS or an application protocol.
If we are talking about infrastructure protocols then I think that is a
case where the IESG needs to step in sooner rather than later.
If we are talking about application protocols let the market decide.
it's not that cut-and-dried. it can be very costly to users to let the market decide. sometimes the market doesn't decide, it just fragments. users either don't end up with a coherent solution or they end up with an overly complex solution that doesn't interoperate well - IM is a good example.
that and the argument of "let the market decide" is constantly used by market leaders as a way to try to derail standards that might compete with their (usually poor) proprietary solutions. it should be taken as a sign of weakness on the part of those who say it.
what you appear to be trying to do is to increase the number of ways in which people can derail the process.
Keith
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