In article <20190802113501.GA8922@xxxxxxx> you write: >On Wed, Jul 31, 2019 at 08:43:42AM -0400, Keith Moore wrote: >> IMO it is dangerous for IETF to be dependent on an externally-run platform >> that is subject to change at a whim. > >I strongly concur with this. The IETF should run its own repository, >subject to its own policies/procedures/etc. Yes, that's more work, >but it assures autonomy and it's much less work than frantically >trying to adapt to a sudden change imposed by an external platform -- >whose agenda is not the IETF's agenda. This sort of argument quickly runs down a rathole of hosting our own servers, generating our own power, and fabbing our own chips. There is always some risk associated with using outside providers, but there is considerable cost and risk of running stuff ourselves. We are stretched very thin supporting the software tools we have now, and the fact that you need to use our strange toolchain to write an I-D is a significant hump for new participants to get over. Github has the huge practical advantage that to a first approximation everyone already knows how to use it. A self-hosted git package would not be the same as github, which has a lot of its own stuff on top of the git version control. If we were to host our own stuff, as a US entity we'd be subject to the same rules as github's owner Microsoft. The usual next step is to say that the IETF should move to some other country. Having briefly looked into this, I can say that even though the US is really screwed up these days, on the whole it's still as stable a place to do business as anywhere else, and moving would be unbelievably expensive. Also, be careful what you wish for. What if five or ten years ago we'd decided to move to the UK for its stable politics and finances and its deep integration with the EU? R's, John
