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.




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RFC 7691               Term Dates for IAOC Members         November 2015


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



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RFC 7691               Term Dates for IAOC Members         November 2015


  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>







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RFC 7691               Term Dates for IAOC Members         November 2015


Editor's Address

  Scott Bradner
  Harvard University
  8 Story St.
  Cambridge MA, 02138
  United States

  Phone: +1 617 495 3864
  Email: [email protected]









































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