Thank you for developing this and sharing it with the community, Andrew. Alissa > On Mar 10, 2019, at 6:31 PM, Andrew Sullivan <sullivan@xxxxxxxx> wrote: > > Dear colleagues, > > The next IETF meeting is the first one that is happening under the > aegis of the new IETF LLC. Because it is a new phase in the > relationship between the IETF and the wider Internet Society [1], it > seemed a good time for ISOC staff to have a look at the way we act > when participating in IETF meetings. > > The relationship has always been a little funny, because of the way > things were structured. Formally, no ISOC staff except the President > (that's me, for now) necessarily has a relationship to the IETF. > Historically the President served on the IETF Trust and IAOC; the IAOC > ended when IETF LLC took over, and the Trust relationship will wind up > when the new Trustees are seated. Today I remain responsible for the > selection of the nomcom chair. The Board of Trustees of the Internet > Society function as the last step in the IETF appeals chain, but that > does not implicate staff. As a practical matter, of course, there is > a liaison between the IAB and ISOC that has always been an ISOC staff > member, and the Internet Society staff members collaborate more or > less formally in lots of ways at the IETF. More importantly, everyone > employed by the Internet Society remains committed to the continued > health of the IETF: we all know that the best way to ensure the > Internet is for everyone is to depend upon open, widely-available > standards based on rough consensus and running code. > > The fact that a large part of the funding of the IETF comes from ISOC, > however, and that the IETF's legal existence is (still) inside ISOC, > has sometimes led to discomfort about the ways staff operate within > the IETF. So last week, we adopted a new internal policy about staff > participation in the IETF. I won't post the whole thing here, mostly > because it's an HR policy and I don't think it's a good idea to burden > the IETF with such details, but it still seems worth highlighting a > few things that you might notice from ISOC staff in the near future > (because these are changes that will be visible). > > First, ISOC employees are encouraged to be conservative in what they > send, especially at mic lines. Employees will be required to note > their employment and to disclaim that they are representing the > Internet Society unless they are actually stating a published ISOC > position (or announcing a new one). This applies to everyone, > including me. > > Second, ISOC staff are required to get explicit management approval to > be listed as authors on any I-D or RFC with their ISOC affiliation in > place. If they want to participate outside of that affiliation, > they're similarly required to make sure that the responsible AD, WG > chairs, and other authors are aware of their employment and still > comfortable proceeding. Employees are not allowed to publish anything > on the Independent Stream under any circumstances. (The idea here is > to ensure that anything that comes from ISOC employees is at least > subject to some consensus process.) > > Third, staff members (including contractors) are discouraged from > taking formal roles (such as WG chair), committee participation (such > as the EDU team or Ombudsteam), and so on. In the case of WG chairs, > they are required to have a formal request from the relevant AD that > is renewed each time the responsible AD changes. In the case where a > staff member is the best candidate, they are required to find and > groom a successor in no more than one year (ideally in less time). We > should be here to help build and promote the community, and part of > that means standing out of the way in favour of others. We are also > not allowed to volunteer for the nomcom and must decline if selected. > And, we're not permitted to take nomcom-selected positions under any > circumstances. > > The overall idea is to try to draw a bright line between being > employed at the Internet Society, and being part of the formal > machinery of the IETF. Staff are still encouraged to read and comment > on drafts, to participate actively and constructively in WGs, and so > on. There will also be continued collaboration beween ISOC and the > IAB. But it seems especially important, while the machinery of the > IETF LLC gets running properly, that nobody be confused about the > formal role of ISOC in the IETF. The new staff guidelines are > intended to ensure there isn't confusion. I think that will help to > make sure the new IETF LLC is strong and effective. > > I hope this is useful information. If you have questions or want to > know more, please feel free to ask, and I'll be happy to answer > insofar as appropriate for a staff issue. You can always reach me at > sullivan@xxxxxxxx, or catch me in the hallway in Prague. > > Best regards, > > Andrew > > [1] I think of the Internet Society as comprising not just the staff > and corporate existence of the Internet Society, but all the > directly-affiliated groups as well -- the chapters, different kinds of > members, SIGs, and so on. Since the IETF LLC is affiliated with ISOC > and, while legally distinct, remains part of the Internet Society's > corporate structure, I think of the IETF as "part of" the Internet > Society too, but in a loose way that is similar to other parts of our > community. > > -- > Andrew Sullivan > President & CEO, Internet Society > sullivan@xxxxxxxx > +1 517 885 3587 >
