Subject: [newtrk] My opinion of ISDs

From: Sam Hartman <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 03 Aug 2005 08:52:25 -0400

Hi.  I'd like to thank Scott for reminding us all of the example ISD
for the Internet standards process.  I read that draft and I found it
very helpful in forming an opinion about ISDs.

I assume that ISD represents the sort of thing that proponents of ISDs
would like to see for each standard/group of standards.

I don't want to see such documents and believe that normative versions
of such documents would hurt rather than help the standards process.
As such, I am personally opposed to ISDs.  

I don't find that ISDs are useful to me in trying to find
specifications.  I'd much rather something like a TOC with titles and
links to documents than text with references to documents.  It might
be reasonable to have an ordered set with a special called out
architecture document or starting document if one is available, but
I'm looking for more of an index than a brief description.

The text in ISDs will be very hard to get consensus on in many cases.
I believe that it will require significantly more effort than it is
worth.

I'm concerned that ISD text could be used to try and normatively
relate parts of a specification instead of just providing information.
I believe in doing so more confusion will be created than will be
helped.

I do not consider the history section to work very well even if the
rest of the ISD proposal is adopted.

In conclusion, I personally recommend that tha working group consider
other proposals including Larry's proposal and the SRD proposal in
preference to ISDs.
.
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From: Harald Tveit Alvestrand <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 03 Aug 2005 15:48:58 +0200

Sam,

I continue to believe that choosing the standards process for an ISD was 
one of the worst possible choices for an example.

As a counterexample, I'll re-offer my "MIXER" example - this is a 
technology that you're unlikely to be deeply familiar with.

Most of the text in the document is in fact quoting the abstracts from the 
documents, since that was a requirement of ISDs at the time I wrote it; 
omitting this might make it clearer just how little text there is in this 
"proto-ISD".

                      Harald

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From: Sam Hartman <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 03 Aug 2005 11:34:37 -0400

Thanks for this additional example.  My reactions to it are the same
for the internet standards ISD.

I want to make it clear I realize I'm one individual.  My opinion is
only one datapoint.  However I am part of this community and it seems
reasonable to express an opinion when I have one.

.