A draft does get cross-area review, at least once, often more than once. Some drafts in some WGs get it earlier than others, by explicit invitation. Others don't get it until the latest they can, when they go to last call ... but a process point for cross-area review during WG handling, already exists. It's just optional. I did like SIRS, and the equivalent of SIRS exists -- in the informal relationships that are all through the IETF. You can make the option more explicit, you could even make it mandatory, but doing so won't speed up draft processing at all and will probably make it slower. One of the IETF's problems is not the problem under discussion but unconscious assumptions about the standards process. People think of last call as near the end of the process. It's time to abandon that outdated view and recognize that so-called "last" call is not as close to the end as it used to be, that it's a bit closer to the middle ... and that that's really okay. Really. Some other SDOs have their process structured that way. Let's rename "last call" to something like "IETF review" and stop giving people the wrong expectations. Review outside the WG is vital, can be done repeatedly, and must be done by the whole IETF at least once. Scott