Subject: Last Call: <draft-resnick-on-consensus-05.txt> (On Consensus and Humming in the IETF) to Informational RFC

From: The IESG <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 07 Oct 2013 09:48:29 -0700

The IESG has received a request from an individual submitter to consider
the following document:
- 'On Consensus and Humming in the IETF'
  <draft-resnick-on-consensus-05.txt> as Informational RFC

The IESG plans to make a decision in the next few weeks, and solicits
final comments on this action. Please send substantive comments to the
[email-masked] mailing lists by 2013-11-04. Exceptionally, comments may be
sent to [email-masked] instead. In either case, please retain the
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Abstract

   The IETF has had a long tradition of doing its technical work through
   a consensus process, taking into account the different views among
   IETF participants and coming to (at least rough) consensus on
   technical matters.  In particular, the IETF is supposed not to be run
   by a "majority rule" philosophy.  This is why we engage in rituals
   like "humming" instead of voting.  However, more and more of our
   actions are now indistinguishable from voting, and quite often we are
   letting the majority win the day, without consideration of minority
   concerns.  This document is a collection of thoughts on what rough
   consensus is, how we have gotten away from it, and the things we can
   do in order to really achieve rough consensus.

      Note (to be removed before publication): This document is quite
      consciously being put forward as Informational.  It does not
      propose to change any IETF processes and is therefore not a BCP.
      It is simply a collection of principles, hopefully around which
      the IETF can come to (at least rough) consensus.

The file can be obtained via
http://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-resnick-on-consensus/

IESG discussion can be tracked via
http://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-resnick-on-consensus/ballot/

No IPR declarations have been submitted directly on this I-D.