[OpenID board] The Specs Council and Process (WAS: Re: Executive Committee meeting 12/18/2008 ...)

[Martin Atkins]

Dick Hardt wrote:
> 
> It is MUCH more effort to figure out the IPR afterwards.
> 

Perhaps, but if that's the only way that actually works then maybe we 
just need to accept that. Can you cite a single example (from this 
community) of a published spec that had the IPR work done ahead of time? 
I can't think of one.

It seems to me that front-loading technical work with legal stuff is not 
compatible with this community's culture.

> IPR is NOT the roadblock in creating WGs. As David mentions, the  
> process is currently far to heavy. We need to make it simpler and  
> easily understood.
> 

If we can reduce it such that creating a working group is just a matter 
of asking to create one and instantly having it then that would be fine. 
Anything else just gets in the way and just causes folks to do work 
elsewhere. The time folks spend writing up and promoting working group 
proposals could be better spent writing specs.