Melinda is right about the gatekeeping role of the IETF. I have personally experienced that several times. Negotiating that gatekeeping may well be the hardest part of getting a work started. And it mostly has to do with one's capacity to "convince" the relevant AD of the value of the work. This is probably why the diversity of viewpoints in the steering group is most useful. -----Original Message----- From: ietf-bounces@xxxxxxxx [mailto:ietf-bounces@xxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Melinda Shore Sent: Friday, March 22, 2013 7:33 PM To: Stephen Farrell Cc: ietf@xxxxxxxx Subject: Re: Less Corporate Diversity On 3/22/13 6:28 PM, Stephen Farrell wrote: > FWIW, seems to me you're describing one leg of the elephant each. From > my experience I'd say you both actually have an appreciation of the > overall elephant but that's not coming out in this kind of thread. Well, maybe, but it seems to me that he's lost track of the discussion. My argument is that the IESG has a gatekeeping function in taking on new work, that's based (aside from resourcing) on a set of values, their view of what's needed in the industry, etc. With a uniform IESG membership you're not going to get a rather uniform view of the overall context for IETF work, you'll lose perspective, and consequently there's value to having members who aren't almost all from big manufacturers. I'm not sure what Martin's point is, to be honest. Melinda