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On 9/7/19 11:09 PM, Dan Harkins wrote:
We
had a note on this list that treated people who were white, male,
and not young with
disdain and suggesting they should be replaced due to their skin
color, gender, and age (it
also alluded to some language that bordered on being
trans-phobic). The SAA didn't have a
problem with that statement and chose not to comment on it ("it
was not actionable") because
it was, to quote, merely "misguided".
Without trying to nail down exactly what kind(s) of prejudice has
been exhibited, it does seem clear that in certain circles there
is an idea that "those people" (i.e. some identified group)
are "the problem".
Some things I've found in my experience in IETF are that (a)
building consensus requires looking for common ground between
oneself and others with different points of view; and (b) an
assumption that "those people" (for ANY group) are inherently
wrong or misguided, is a huge handicap when looking for common
ground.
I also think that when some people take it upon themselves to
find fault with others, or feel a sense of entitlement to do so,
this is poisonous to consensus-building, no matter who the
fault-finding people are.
I do want to acknowledge (again) that IETF culture can be hostile to
newcomers. To me it's also clear that IETF culture can be hostile
to longtime participants. This seems to me to be potential common
ground that could be investigated when exploring how to improve IETF
culture.
Keith
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