Internet DRAFT - draft-resnick-variance
draft-resnick-variance
Network Working Group P. Resnick, Ed.
Internet-Draft Episteme
Intended status: Best Current Practice 27 March 2020
Expires: 28 September 2020
Variances to Provisions of Best Current Practices
draft-resnick-variance-00
Abstract
From time to time, there are unforeseen circumstances which make
following the requirements of a Best Current Practice (BCP)
untenable, or where the procedures described in the BCP gives no
guidance. This document defines a process for the IETF to grant a
variance to any IETF process for a single use or of very short
duration.
Status of This Memo
This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.
Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
Task Force (IETF). Note that other groups may also distribute
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and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."
This Internet-Draft will expire on 28 September 2020.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 2020 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 (https://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
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provided without warranty as described in the Simplified BSD License.
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. The Variance Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
3. Exclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
4. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
4.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Author's Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1. Introduction
The Best Current Practice (BCP) document series, among other things,
defines the operations, policies, and processes of the IETF. From
time to time, there are unforeseen circumstances which make following
the requirements of a BCP untenable, or where the procedures
described in the BCP gives no guidance, yet the BCP gives no latitude
for anyone in IETF leadership to simply call for a variance to the
procedure. RFC 2026 section 9 [RFC2026] describes a variance
procedure for the IETF Standards Process, but the result of the
variance is a published BCP, which is often inappropriate for a one-
off or short-lived variance.
This document defines a process for the IETF to grant a variance to
any IETF process in cases where publishing an RFC in the BCP series
is inappropriate because the variance is for a single use or of very
short duration. This variance procedure is modeled on the variance
procedure described in RFC 2026 section 9 [RFC2026].
2. The Variance Procedure
Upon the recommendation of an IETF Working Group or an ad hoc
committee of IETF participants, the IESG may craft a variance to any
BCP requirement via the following procedure. In approving a
variance, the IESG must first determine that the likely benefits to
the Internet community are likely to outweigh any costs to the
Internet community that result from noncompliance with the
requirements of the BCP in question. In exercising this discretion,
the IESG shall at least consider (a) the merit of waving the
provision of the BCP in question, (b) the possibility of achieving
the goals of the BCP provision without granting a variance, (c)
alternatives to the granting of a variance, (d) the collateral and
precedential effects of granting a variance, and (e) the IESG's
ability to craft a variance that is as narrow as possible. In
determining whether to approve a variance, the IESG has discretion to
limit the scope of the variance to particular parts of the BCP in
question and to impose such additional restrictions or limitations as
it determines appropriate to protect the interests of the Internet
community.
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The proposed variance must detail the problem perceived, explain the
precise provision of the BCP in question which is causing the need
for a variance, and the results of the IESG's considerations
including consideration of points (a) through (d) in the previous
paragraph. The proposed variance shall be issued as an Internet
Draft. The IESG shall then issue an extended Last-Call, of no less
than 4 weeks, to allow for community comment upon the proposal.
In a timely fashion after the expiration of the Last-Call period, the
IESG shall make its final determination of whether or not to approve
the proposed variance, and shall notify the IETF of its decision via
electronic mail to the IETF Announce mailing list. If the variance
is approved, it shall be published on the IETF web site in a place
designated for such variances.
3. Exclusions
This variance procedure is for use when a one-time waving of some
provision of the BCP in question is felt to be required. In no event
shall the waiver remain in place for longer than one year. Permanent
changes to the BCP in question shall be accomplished through the
normal BCP process.
No use of this procedure may lower any delays for community
notifications, nor exempt any procedure from the requirements of
openness, fairness, or consensus, nor from the need to keep proper
records of the meetings and mailing list discussions.
4. References
4.1. Normative References
[RFC2026] Bradner, S., "The Internet Standards Process -- Revision
3", BCP 9, RFC 2026, DOI 10.17487/RFC2026, October 1996,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2026>.
Author's Address
Peter W. Resnick (editor)
Episteme Technology Consulting LLC
503 West Indiana Avenue
Urbana, IL 61801-4941
United States of America
Phone: +1 217 337 1905
Email: resnick@episteme.net
URI: https://www.episteme.net/
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