Re: [wg-d] WG Principles

[Karl Auerbach <karl@CaveBear.com>]

It is all nice and good that we have all these details from the IETF
process.

I suggest, however, that we first need to establish the basic
characteristics that we are looking for in a set of procedures.

Yesterday we discussed the desirability of having processes with clearly
delineated votes on clearly delineated questions.

For that kind of process, I suggest that we look to widely accepted forms
of practice such as Roberts Rules.

Those rules, are universally known and practiced.  Roberts Rules is the
worldwide standard for running committees and working groups.

Roberts rules have the benefit of having clear methods of taking votes,
clear means for questioning decisions of the chair, clear methods to
ensure that no single party (including the chair) monopolizes or railroads
the process.

Those rules are the result of enormous practical experience.  They are
"running code".

The issue is how to apply them in an electronic context.

There's lots of material on Robert's Rules. An Altavista search yielded
several summaries such as:
	http://www.sigep.org/pubres/officers/robertsrules.htm
	http://www.msu.edu/user/phisig/rules.htm
	http://kafka.uvic.ca/~martlet/robroolz.html

(Hopefully I transcribed those correctly.  Linux/Gnome doesn't do
cut-and-paste quite as nicely as Windoz. ;-)

		--karl--