Michael StJohns wrote on 29/06/2019 23:23:
In the instant case, this was a stupidity because it was a _completely
foreseeable result_ that was _completely avoidable_, but the result had
many many parents:
1) The community for not more carefully constraining the IAB's assertion
of authority over the RFC process.
2) The IAB for delegation of said authority to the RSOC without
carefully constraining its exercise.
3) The IAB for not paying attention to the result of the RFC++ bof
4) The IAB for replacing the majority of the RSOC post the RFC++ bof
without input from the RSE, and in apparent violation of one of the
guiding principles of the RSOC - that of maintaining continuity from
year to year.
5) The community for not yelling a lot louder and longer when (4) happened.
6) The community, IAB and RSOC for not appreciating the value of a world
class professional editor/publisher to the continued excellence of the
RFC series, and for not expressing that appreciation in the form of
professional deference and independence rather than what appears to have
been more of a "you contractor, me boss"* model.
7) The RSOC for ... well - you know.
8) The LLC for not paying better attention to the relationship between
contractor and contractee.
also:
- not soliciting input from / listening to / acting on what the RSE says
Heather's resignation was deeply unfortunate and almost certainly
completely avoidable, but having been the RSE, the various oversight
committees need to understand that she will have insights into the
position and function of the RSE that they will never have.
If her viewpoints and wisdom are not taken into account now, the
likelihood is that all the mistakes which have led to this situation
will be repeated in future. This would be tragically unnecessary.
This goes well beyond the mantra of "oh, let's reform stuff". It means
frank and open discussion, a willingness to accept constructive
criticism, taking Heather's viewpoints on board and actually doing
something about them. This is not easy, but it is necessary.
A good starting point would be: "can you identify and if so, how would
you fix the problems which ultimately led to your resignation"?
Nick
