Updating the Term Dates of IETF Administrative Oversight Committee (IAOC) Members
Practical fixes for when IETF committee members' terms should begin and end
Bradner, S., Ed., "Updating the Term Dates of IETF Administrative Oversight Committee (IAOC) Members", RFC 7691, DOI 10.17487/RFC7691, November 2015, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7691>.
@misc{rfc7691,
series = {Request for Comments},
number = 7691,
howpublished = {RFC 7691},
publisher = {RFC Editor},
doi = {10.17487/RFC7691},
url = {https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7691},
author = {S. Bradner},
title = {{Updating the Term Dates of IETF Administrative Oversight Committee (IAOC) Members}},
pagetotal = 4,
year = 2015,
month = nov,
} RFC text
Contents
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) S. Bradner, Ed.
Request for Comments: 7691 Harvard University
BCP: 101 November 2015
Updates: 4071
Category: Best Current Practice
ISSN: 2070-1721
Updating the Term Dates of
IETF Administrative Oversight Committee (IAOC) Members
Abstract
BCP 101 defines the start and end dates for the terms of IETF
Administrative Oversight Committee (IAOC) members; these terms have
proven to be impractical. This memo updates BCP 101 to direct the
IAOC to establish more practical start and end dates for terms of
IAOC members.
Status of This Memo
This memo documents an Internet Best Current Practice.
This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF). It represents the consensus of the IETF community. It has
received public review and has been approved for publication by the
Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG). Further information on
BCPs is available in Section 2 of RFC 5741.
Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7691.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 2015 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
document authors. All rights reserved.
This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
(http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
publication of this document. Please review these documents
carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
to this document. Code Components extracted from this document must
include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
described in the Simplified BSD License.
Table of Contents
1. Background ..................................................... 2
2. Updates to BCP 101 ............................................. 3
3. Security Considerations ........................................ 3
4. Normative References ........................................... 3
Editor's Address .................................................. 4
1. Background
Section 4 of RFC 4071 [BCP101] says "IAOC terms normally end at the
end of the first IETF meeting of a year." Having the terms of the
IAOC members expire at the end of the first IETF meeting of the year
has proved impractical for the IAOC to carry out its business and to
elect its Chair during the meeting week. For a number of years, the
IAOC has improvised by defaulting to an informal process of having
the transition occur during the administrative plenary (as the IESG
does). This informal arrangement violates the letter of BCP 101.
But even this arrangement is problematic if the transfer happens
after the IAOC's face-to-face meeting takes place that week. Under
the informal arrangement, the IAOC typically meets on the morning of
the administrative plenary, which means that the incoming IAOC
members, while present, are not seated.
Having the new IAOC members take office after the face-to-face
meeting has caused difficulties in the chair selection and voting
processes during the IAOC's face-to-face meeting held during the same
week. There has been confusion over who should vote in the chair
election and on any business actions that require a vote of the
Trustees. If the incoming members are not seated, then they should
not vote; however, to select a chair for the next year, for example,
they, more than the outgoing members, should have a say in the chair
selection. There is also confusion over who is eligible to be
elected as chair -- if the term of an IAOC member has not yet
started, could that IAOC member be elected chair (as the chair is
selected from among the members). Having the terms expire at the end
of the week also risks the IAOC not being able to raise a quorum if
outgoing members decide to not come to the meeting. Because the IAOC
members are the Trustees of the IETF Trust, the same issues arise
with the IETF Trust and its ability to carry out its business and
elect a Chair during the meeting week.
An additional issue with BCP 101 is the current definition of the
term length of the IAOC Chair. RFC 4071 [BCP101] says "The term of
the IAOC chair shall be one year from the time of selection or the
remaining time of his or her tenure on the IAOC, whichever is less."
Because the dates for the first IETF meeting of the year vary from
year to year, the current BCP 101 text could result in there being no
IAOC chair for weeks before the a meeting or in overlapping terms for
IAOC Chairs.
2. Updates to BCP 101
This memo updates Section 4 of RFC 4071 [BCP101] to remove the
following sentence:
IAOC terms normally end at the end of the first IETF meeting of a
year.
Furthermore, the following requirements are added:
1. The IAOC and the IETF Trust each hold a regular meeting close to
the time of, or during, the first IETF meeting of the year.
2. The IAOC and the Trust select their chairs as the first order of
business in their individual meetings in a manner of their
choosing.
3. The IAOC determines the beginning and end of the normal terms of
its members relative to the above mentioned IAOC meeting; such
terms must start and end close to the time of this meeting, unless
those determinations are made by the appointing bodies.
A regular meeting has proper notice, minutes that are posted, and may
be held face-to-face, via teleconference, or as a combination of the
two.
3. Security Considerations
This memo relates to IETF process and not to any particular
technology, so it does not impact the security of the Internet.
4. Normative References
[BCP101] Austein, R., Ed., and B. Wijnen, Ed., "Structure of the IETF
Administrative Support Activity (IASA)", BCP 101, RFC 4071,
April 2005.
Carpenter, B., Ed., and L. Lynch, Ed., "BCP 101 Update for
IPR Trust", BCP 101, RFC 4371, January 2006.
<http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/bcp101>
Editor's Address
Scott Bradner
Harvard University
8 Story St.
Cambridge MA, 02138
United States
Phone: +1 617 495 3864
Email: sob@harvard.edu
AI ELI5
On this page
§1The Problem: Terms Ending at the Wrong Time
RFC 4071 (BCP 101) said IAOC member terms must end at the end of the first IETF meeting of the year. But this created chaos: the IAOC needs to hold meetings during that week, and it must elect a new chair. If the new members aren't yet seated, no one knows who should vote, who can be elected chair, or whether the committee can reach a quorum.
For years the IAOC worked around this by letting the transition happen during the administrative plenary after the face-to-face meeting, but this violated BCP 101 and still created confusion.
The committee had to swap out its leaders at a big meeting, but the timing meant new leaders couldn't sit down until after all the votes. It was confusing and nobody was sure who was in charge.
§2New Flexibility for Term Dates
RFC 7691 removes the rigid requirement and instead directs the IAOC to hold a regular meeting near or during the first IETF meeting of the year. The IAOC itself decides the beginning and end dates of its members' terms, as long as those dates cluster around this annual meeting. The committee elects its chair as its first order of business in its own meeting, before the transition occurs.
This lets the committee schedule the transition in a way that actually works, and ensures the new chair-elect knows their team before the IETF meeting opens.
Now the committee can pick its own timing, as long as transitions happen near the big meeting. It picks a new chair first, with everybody knowing who the team is.
§3Why This Matters
The IAOC members serve as Trustees of the IETF Trust, which manages intellectual property and other assets. The same timing problems affected the Trust, so the same fix applies. The update also clarifies that a regular meeting can be held face-to-face, by teleconference, or as a hybrid.
This change was a practical necessity: smooth transitions require clear procedures, not deadlock and improvisation.
The committee's leaders also manage important funds and documents, so when they change, things need to work smoothly. This lets them transition properly without everyone confused about who is in charge.