Subject: [Gen-art] Rough draft of Gen-ART FAQ ("please fire away")

From: "Spencer Dawkins" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 4 Nov 2005 15:29:05 -0800

Dear Gen-ART,

I asked Brian about a Gen-ART FAQ and Brian demonstrated his IETF prowess by 
getting me to send text without actually saying, "Send text". No wonder he's 
the General Area director...

Anyway - Brian and Mary have seen this and given a couple of suggestions 
apiece, and Brian asked me to send it to the group for comments, so...

Thanks,

Spencer

Q: What is Gen-ART?
A: The General Area Review Team. They provide gneralist reviews for the
General Area director (currently Brian Carpenter), providing an additional
set of eyes for documents as they are being considered for publication.

Q: Who is Gen-ART?
A: The current membership list is maintained at 
http://www.alvestrand.no/ietf/gen/art/reviewer-list.html. We do accept new 
reviewers - volunteers should contact the Gen-ART secretary (see below) < 
NOTE that this phrasing is Brian's, but the URL actually says "contact the 
General Area director" - we just need to say the same thing in both places>

Q: What does the Gen-ART secretary do and how do I find him/her?
A: The Gen-ART secretary is also listed on the membership page. The Gen-ART 
secretary tracks documents submitted for publication and assigns them to 
reviewers, and collects the reviews, posting them to 
http://www.alvestrand.no/ietf/gen/art/gen-art.html.

Q: Why is my document being reviewed?
A: Two possible answers - most Gen-ART reviews are now assigned at IETF Last
Call time (answer #1). If a document is revised after IETF Last Call, or is
processed so quickly that no Gen-ART reviewer has been assigned, it's
reviewed after being placed on the IESG Telechat agenda (answer #2).

Q: How was my Gen-ART reviewer selected?
A: There is a mechanism, but it's more about leveling the review workload
than selecting reviewers based on topic areas. Gen-ART reviewers are
generalists, so we think this is OK.

Q: Are the reviews public or private?
A: The reviews are sent to the Gen-ART mailing list (which includes the
General Area director). Ordinarily, copies are sent to shepherding ADs,
document shepherds, working group chairs, and authors/editors, but the
archives are publically viewable, at
http://www.ietf.org/mail-archive/web/gen-art/current/index.html.

Q: Are Gen-ART comments binding?
A: Not unless the General Area director agrees with the comments. Gen-ART
does not have a formal role in the standards approval process - we're simply
providing input for the General Area director who is deciding how to ballot
the document. If the General Area director agrees with a serious concern
expressed in a Gen-ART review, the General Area director may ask the Gen-ART
reviewer, "does the new version of the draft address your concerns?"

Q: I have comments from a Gen-ART reviewer - do I revise the document
immediately?
A: Ask your AD/document shepherd. Practice varies between areas. A fair
number of comments area resolved with Notes to the RFC Editor. But the
General Area director will not ask for a respin before a telechat.

Q: What if the Gen-ART reviewer is just flat wrong?
A: The General Area director understands that these are reviews by
generalists who are not experts in every protocol the IETF works on, plus
security and MIBs. If you disagree with comments, say so. The ballot
position is called "DISCUSS", not "IMPERIAL EDICT" or "BLACKMAIL".

Q: Is there any written Gen-ART procedure?
A: Currently
http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-doria-genart-experience-01.txt,
and - guess what - we're still reviewing it :-) 

_______________________________________________
Gen-art mailing list
[email-masked]
https://www1.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/gen-art

---

From: Scott W Brim <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 04 Nov 2005 18:58:04 -0500

On 11/04/2005 18:29 PM, Spencer Dawkins allegedly wrote:
> Dear Gen-ART,
> 
> I asked Brian about a Gen-ART FAQ and Brian demonstrated his IETF
> prowess by getting me to send text without actually saying, "Send text".
> No wonder he's the General Area director...
> 

delete Brian, maybe say currently IETF chair

> http://www.alvestrand.no/ietf/gen/art/reviewer-list.html. We do accept
> new reviewers - volunteers should contact the Gen-ART secretary (see
> below) < NOTE that this phrasing is Brian's, but the URL actually says
> "contact the General Area director" - we just need to say the same thing
> in both places>

fix the URL; if needed the General Area director can get secretary mail

> A: The Gen-ART secretary is also listed on the membership page. The
> Gen-ART secretary tracks documents submitted for publication and assigns
> them to reviewers, and collects the reviews, posting them to

More than that.  We intentionally avoid specialization.

> position is called "DISCUSS", not "IMPERIAL EDICT" or "BLACKMAIL".

The gen-art reviewers *want* to hear feedback.  They want to learn
more about your area, and want feedback about how helpful their
comments are.

> and - guess what - we're still reviewing it :-)

Scott