RE: Membership on an 802.3ae Reflector
Under IEEE rules, the entire world population could attend a standards
meeting, participate, shape the debate and vote. It is not a practical
scenario but in an open system, it is the theoretical ideal. In a physical
meeting, the debate sometimes takes directions that are inappropriate. It
is the function of the chair to control this debate and limit excess. The
web reflector case is no different. The need to police a reflector in
addition to the other tasks of chairing a Task Force may be burdensome but
it's part of the job. If we need to lighten the burden, we could appoint
"reflector chairs" in the same way we pass the chair in a physical meeting.
If we limit participation in the reflector, we run the risk of creating a
mis-perception. It is a well-known form of "gerrymandering" to move
discussions behind closed doors in government. This has often been done in
democracies when the formal debate chamber adopts complete openness. By
having an "open" meeting but a "closed" reflector we run the risk of
creating this perception. We also dis-enfranchise many who can not afford
the cost of participation by travelling to the meetings.
The strength of IEEE Standards efforts lies in the openness of the system
and adherence to a set of rules. Lets keep our reflectors open.
Brian
Brian MacLeod
Project 101, Inc.,
PO Box 14347
Spokane WA 99214-0347
Tel 509-892-6955
-----Original Message-----
From: Jonathan Thatcher [SMTP:jonathan.thatcher@worldwidepackets.com]
Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2000 5:14 PM
To: HSSG_reflector
Cc: David Law; Geoffrey O. Thompson
Subject: Membership on an 802.3ae Reflector
Per plan at the Dallas meeting, the 802.3ae reflector policy is published
here and will be placed on the "welcome message" for all 802.3ae
reflectors.
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The 802.3ae Reflector is provided to the members of 802.3ae for the benefit
of moving the work of the Task Force (TF) forward.
Communications are expected to be respectful, dignified, and germane to the
work of the TF.
The reflector is not a "free speech" forum. Subscriptions are granted by
the
TF to further its purposes and may be revoked for inappropriate
communications. These include, but are not limited to: recruiting,
advertising, soliciting, spamming, flaming, whining, and disparaging
individuals or companies.
The chair shall enforce this policy.
----------------------------------------------------
David, please copy this note to all current reflectors (even those that are
inactivated) and have this policy placed on the "welcome messages."
Thanks,
jonathan
Jonathan Thatcher, Gigabit Evangelist
Chair, IEEE 802.3 High Speed Study Group (10 Gigabit Ethernet)
Director of Engineering, World Wide Packets
PO BOX 141719, Suite B; 12720 E. Nora, Spokane, WA 99214
509-242-9000 X228; Fax 509-242-9001; jonathan@worldwidepackets.com