All,
We, the co-chairs of the GEOPRIV working group, have received private
messages of concern regarding the GEOPRIV meeting held at IETF 68 and
the outcome of that meeting. Upon initial investigation, we believe
there were irregularities with the scheduling and agenda of the
meeting that rise above the normal course of business within the
IETF. It is our opinion that at this time, it is best to bring
notice of these irregularities to the working group in the interest
of transparency and for the integrity of the IETF.
AGENDA CHANGE
The IETF process allows for agenda changes during meetings. At the
outset of the meeting, the agenda was changed substantially from the
published agenda. This change included removing the discussion of
location signing and integrity and replacing it with an L7-LCP
protocol consensus call. However, evidence has arisen that the
the Area Directors, Cullen Jennings and Jon Peterson, met privately
with
some participants of the GEOPRIV working group to inform them
of this agenda change. Cullen Jennings is the Area Advisor to
GEOPRIV.
If such meetings did occur, we believe them to be improper and to
have potentially harmed the integrity and transparency of GEOPRIV and
the IETF. It is not proper for officiates of a working group to plan
working group agenda changes and privately inform only select group
participants. Doing so disadvantages participants of the working
group who have not been advised of this change. This is especially
true for this particular meeting as the agenda change precipitated 15
hums during the meeting.
SCHEDULE CHANGE
As noted ahead of time, two of the three co-chairs, Andy and Allison,
were unable to attend IETF 68. The working group co-chairs planned
for this in advance by finding a substitute acting chair, Henning
Schulzrinne, to aid the one co-chair, Randy, who was able to
attend. This change was publicly announced on the mailing list
before IETF 68. However, the RAI Area Directors announced a last
minute (Sunday) schedule change which created an unresolvable conflict
for Randy. The Area Directors executed this schedule change over the
objections of the GEOPRIV co-chairs and in full knowledge of the
conflict it created. Additionally, the reason given was so that a
working group co-chair for another working group could attend his
meeting.
As a result of the schedule change, the meeting was co-chaired by Jon
Peterson, the other RAI Area Director. Consequent to the agenda
change regarding L7-LCP, Henning recused himself during the latter
half the meeting, leaving Jon Peterson to solely run the meeting.
During the meeting, a few participants expressed concerns regarding
the agenda and schedule changes. These concerns were dismissed by
Jon.
CONSENSUS CALLS
As noted above, the meeting resulted in an unusually high (15) number
of consensus calls for GEOPRIV. This includes the unusual decision to
use an alternate consensus method of a plurality vote to choose
between
two protocol proposals. As noted in the raw minutes and the
audio recording of the meeting, for the call that used the
plurality voting method, Cullen Jennings both called the consensus
and cast the last and tie-breaking vote in the room. It should also
be noted that one of the hums was called on a question not described
in an existing Internet-Draft.
The schedule change, the agenda change made known to a few select
participants in advance, and the unusual sense-of-the-room hums,
together
create at least the appearance that there may have been an attempt to
manipulate the IETF process to hold and predetermine the outcome of
consensus calls. Even the appearance of such manipulation,
regardless of
how well-intentioned the actions may have been, threatens the
integrity
and openness of the IETF.
The IETF relies on not just open, fare processes, but also
transparency that good procedures are followed. The irregularities
are now on the record of the group, hopefully never to be repeated.
In order to follow IETF process, all resolutions put forward during
a working group meeting must be ratified on the working group's
mailing list. The chairs will shortly be sending messages to formally
initiate consensus calls on the sense-of-the-room hums that were taken
in Prague. Since so many hums were put forth during the IETF 68
meeting, we plan to send multiple messages to the working group
mailing list seeking ratification of the proposals.
Because of what happened in Prague, the chairs want to make very
sure that the subsequent consensus calls are very open and
non-coercive. We ask all working group participants to please pay
close attention to these calls and respond appropriately.
The first of these messages will be sent shortly.
Sincerely,
The geopriv co-chairs:
- Andy
- Allison
- Randy
_______________________________________________
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