On May 15, 2013, at 10:41 AM, Keith Moore <moore@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: >> The motivation for a particular feature of a protocol is not clear enough. At the IESG review stage, protocols should not be blocked because they provide capabilities beyond what seems necessary to acquit their responsibilities. > > I strongly disagree with what the NON-DISCUSS criteria say. DISCUSS isn't just for blocking documents. And document quality is as important (in the sense that poor document quality can lead to as many interoperability or other problems) as technical correctness. The interpretation of this particular NON-DISCUSS criterion that Joe has given is simply wrong. The key word to pay attention to to see the error is "motivation." The point of this criterion is to eliminate a very specific sort of stall that has been known to happen in the past: the stall where the AD doesn't understand why the document is being put forward at all, and therefore blocks the document until the authors explain the motivation behind the document to the satisfaction of the AD who is holding the DISCUSS. This is a real issue that has created real problems in the past, and that is why it is in the NON-DISCUSS criteria. But this criterion _does not_ mean that a criticism that the document itself is unclear is not a valid reason to hold a DISCUSS on it. In fact, it's an excellent reason to hold a DISCUSS on it. A lack of clarity in a document can result in it being implemented incorrectly, or in the case of a BCP, interpreted incorrectly. Or in extreme cases, not read at all. This is a bad outcome, worth spending time on, even if the authors would rather be quit of it.