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Voting in the IEEE P802.3ae Task Force

All 802.3ae Members:
 
Summary: From this point on, voting will be based on 802.3 Working Group membership. Votes will be taken and or confirmed at the Working Group level. It is important for all 802.3 members to stay through the completion of the WG closing plenary (these may now go late). Direct questions to me or Geoff.
 
Per direction from the Geoff Thompson, chair of the IEEE 802.3 Working Group (see enclosed note below), we will be moving votes up to the 802.3 level.
 
Since WG voting is based on WG membership rules, the only reasonable basis the P802.3ae Task Force has for providing motions to 802.3 with a "good chance of passage at the Dot3 level" and will be "durable and will survive the Working Group Ballot Process" is to implement those same rules at the TF level. The rationale is very simple. If all members (attendees) of the TF and WG are of the same mind, then anything desired by the TF will be passed by the WG. If, on the other hand, the two groups are of different minds, then the only reasonable subgroup of the TF that can represent the WG is the 802.3 membership that is attending P802.3ae.
 
Bringing more detailed business up to the 802.3 level will likely increase the amount of time required for the WG closing plenary. It is critical for all members of 802.3 to stay for the entire WG meeting. Please plan accordingly.
 
This will not affect straw polls, which will continue as prescribed in the 802.3 Operating Rules.
 
I strongly discourage reflector discussion of this topic. If there are questions, please contact me or Geoff Thompson directly.
 
Geoff:
 
In following your directive, we would be wasting valuable committee time if the only people voting at the WG closing plenary were 802.3 members who attended P802.3ae. I, therefore, humbly request that all WG members be informed of this change and strongly encouraged to attend the entire meeting.
 
Jonathan

Jonathan Thatcher,
Chair, IEEE 802.3ae (10 Gigabit Ethernet)
Principal Engineer, 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

 

Title: Voting in 802.3 Task Forces

Gentlemen-

Since the March meeting I have discussed the above topic with each of you
several times. It is my belief that in the current situation there are
several problems with the current voting system at the Task Force level.
Therefore, I would like to formally request that you move your votes up to
the Working Group level. I believe that this is necessary in order to
achieve decisions that will be durable and will survive the Working Group
Ballot Process.

In order to implement this decision in a reasonable manner I would expect
that you will have to change some things in the way you operate the Task
Forces. I expect that you will only present well-formed motions that have a
good chance of passage at the Dot3 level. To that end you may need to brush
up on the 802.3 Operating Rules. In particular you may find the following
helpful.
==================================
3.3 Membership

Members and observers in WG 802.3 make up the TF membership. The TF Chair
may choose to establish membership rules for voting if the TF Chair
believes it is necessary to ensure that the business of the TF moves
forward in an orderly basis. In this case the TF shall follow the same
membership
requirements and the same voting rules as 802.3 WG. At the formation of a
TF from a SG all SG participants are automatically granted membership of
the TF.
===================================

I truly hope that this will improve both our processes and consensus. There
is no magic, but I do feel that this will be an improvement. In any case I
am always happy to discuss our challenges with you.

Sincerely,

Geoff
|=========================================|
| Geoffrey O. Thompson                    |
| Chair IEEE 802.3                        |
| Nortel Networks, Inc.  M/S SC5-02       |
| 4401 Great America Parkway              |
| P. O. Box 58185                         |
| Santa Clara, CA 95052-8185  USA         |
| Phone: +1 408 495 1339                  |
| Fax:   +1 408 495 5615                  |
| E-Mail: gthompso@nortelnetworks.com     |
| Please see the IEEE 802.3 web page at   |
   http://www.ieee802.org/3/index.html