----- Original Message ----- From: "Margaret Wasserman" <mrw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: "Pete Resnick" <presnick@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Cc: <ietf@xxxxxxxx> Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2013 10:49 PM On Feb 26, 2013, at 5:38 PM, Pete Resnick <presnick@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > But more seriously: I agree with you both. The deadline is silly. +1 The deadline originated because the secretariat needed time to post all of those drafts (by hand) before the meeting. The notion of an automated tool that blocks submissions for two weeks before the meeting is just silly. <tp> Sometimes, history is bunk:-) Whatever reason is buried in the mists of time, the sheer volume of I-Ds that flood the IETF each and every day requires a pause in the process for someone who wishes to make an informed contribution to an IETF meeting to step back and consider what preparation they need to do before attending. The publication deadline provides that, especially against the authors who want to do everything at or after the last minute, regardless of the cost to those who want to use their time more productively by planning ahead. Of course, if your only interest is in your own I-D, or that of your fellow-workers, then you may not grasp the importance of this issue in the work of the IETF at large:-( Tom Petch Margaret