RE: Draft intro to Process 2016 Document to be sent to

Jeff,
Thank you for finding my typos. See below for the more substantive comment.

Steve Z

From: Jeff Jaffe [mailto:jeff@w3.org]
Sent: Friday, July 29, 2016 8:50 AM
To: Stephen Zilles <steve@zilles.org>; ab@w3.org
Cc: Revising W3C Process Community Group <public-w3process@w3.org>
Subject: Re: Draft intro to Process 2016 Document to be sent to


Bravo!

Typos and a few comments.

On 7/29/2016 11:39 AM, Stephen Zilles wrote:
All,
As promised at the last AB Telcon, I have drafted a cover letter to go with the proposed Process 2016 draft to be sent to the AC for consideration and comments.

Steve Z

=========Draft Letter ========
All,
The Advisory Board is forwarding a proposed Process 2016 draft [1], [2] and [3] to the Advisory Committee for consideration and comment. The plan is that, based on the received comments, a revised draft will be sent to the Advisory Committee for formal Review prior to the September TPAC meeting and that there will be time for questions and comments on the proposed Review document at the TPAC meeting.

[1] https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/raw-file/default/cover.html

[2] https://www.w3.org/2016/07/28-Process2016-diff.html (HTML Diff version)

[3] https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/ (Detailed Diffs)



Please send comments to public-w3process@w3.org<mailto:public-w3process@w3.org> (Mailing list archive<https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-w3process/>, publicly available) or to process-issues@w3.org<mailto:process-issues@w3.org> (Member-only archive<https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Member/process-issues>). A Public Issue Tracker<https://www.w3.org/community/w3process/track/> and detailed changelogs<https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/> are available online. You may discuss your comments on any other list, such as w3c-ac-forum@w3.org<mailto:w3c-ac-forum@w3.org>, as long as you send the comments to one of the W3process lists above and copy that list in the discussion.


The major changes in this document and their rationale are outlined below:
Renumber - 5.2.8, it becomes 5.2.7 (there was no section 5.2.7 in Process 2015)

Added a process to make a Recommendation Obsolete and consolidate it with Rescinding a Recommendation - 6.9<https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/raw-file/default/cover.html#rec-rescind>
The AB observed that there are some Recommendations that have (mostly) outlived their usefulness and should no longer be implemented in new software. This class of Recommendations, called Obsolete Recommendations,  is different from the class of Rescinded Recommendations. A Recommendation that is Rescinded is no longer a Recommendation and has no licensing commitments nor can it be referenced Normatively. A Recommendation that is Obsoleted remains a Recommendation, it still has patent licensing commitments and it can be referenced Normatively, but implementation of that Recommendation is discouraged.

Section 6.9 of the Process Document has been changed to specify the processes to Rescind, to Obsolete and to un-Obsolete a Recommendation. The details of the process are similar in each case, but he

s/he/the/


effect is different. Since all these decision are binary (that is, the content of the affected Recommendation, except for the Status section, does not change), Wide Review prior to the AC (and Public) Review is not required or necessary. Anyone can request one of these actions. If the Working Group that produced the specification is still extent

s/extent/extant/  (I believe)


(or exists as a re-chartered group) then that Working Group acts to recommend that the requested action take place. If there is no such Working Group, the TAG acts to do a technical assessment of the requested action. If proceeding is recommended or the AC appeals a rejection, then an AC Review and the Director's Decision determine the result. See 6.9<https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/raw-file/default/cover.html#rec-rescind> for the exact details.

Changed the voting for AB and TAG elections to Single Transferable Vote - 2.5.2<https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/raw-file/default/cover.html#AB-TAG-elections>
The W3C Membership recommended that W3C experiment with different voting mechanisms for TAG and AB elections. After analysis of the 2-year experiment that occurred as a result of that recommendation, the Membership supported the adoption of an Single Transferable Vote tabulation system for TAG and AB elections with the expectation that it will be more representative of the Membership's will.

The text that is in the proposed Process document was designed with the following goals in mind:

  *   The tabulation system description (and choice of specific tabulation system) should be independent of the process document text.
  *   The tabulation system should be described independent of specific voting operations (e.g., the forms that members fill out).
  *   The tabulation system should be described independent of any software we use to compute results (that is: we should not rely on a single piece of software for implementation).

The Team currently believes that the Meek STV<https://svn.apache.org/repos/asf/steve/trunk/stv_background/meekm.pdf> tabulation system is the best fit for the TAG and AB elections. Details on why and how are at https://www.w3.org/community/w3process/wiki/Voting2016.


Simplify and Rationalize Appeals, so they can occur whether there was dissent or not, and in a broader range of cases - see especially 6.4<https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/raw-file/default/cover.html#candidate-rec>, 6.6<https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/raw-file/default/cover.html#rec-publication>, 6.9<https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/raw-file/default/cover.html#rec-rescind>, 7<https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/raw-file/default/cover.html#ReviewAppeal>, 7.2<https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/raw-file/default/cover.html#ACAppeal>, 7.3<https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/raw-file/default/ACVotes>, 10<https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/raw-file/default/cover.html#Submission>, 10.4<https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/raw-file/default/cover.html#SubmissionNo>, 11<https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/raw-file/default/cover.html#GAProcess>
Toward the end of the process of creating Process 2015, a number of issues related to "appeals" in the W3C process surfaced. At that time, there seemed to be too little time to appropriately address the issues with the care the seem

s/the seem/that seemed/


to be needed. These issues (and ones which have arisen since then) are addressed in the proposed Process 2016.

These changes made the following clarifications:

A.     Which of the three types of appeal is to be used MUST be explicitly identified. The three types are:

i.                  Group Decision Appeal

ii.                 Submission Appeal

iii.                Advisory Committee Appeal

B.     Who can initiate the appeal MUST be identified (whether it is an individual or an AC Representative)

C.      What is being appealed, what "decision" and who (chair, Director, W3C or Team) made it MUST be identified.

D.     There should be a specification of what DOCUMENTATION should accompany each type of appeal. This is specified for a Group Decision Appeal.

Note: Formal Objections are not strictly an "appeal". They are "registered" not "initiated" and they follow the document to which they apply. A separate step, the Group Decision Appeal, that asks the Director to "confirm or deny a decision" (of the group) is the appeal mechanism. Any individual may register a Formal Objection, but only group participants may issue a Group Decision Appeal and if they belong to a Member organization then they must do so through their AC Representative.

Finally, the rules for what decisions are appealable were simplified to be uniform across each class of decisions.

Clarified the rights and obligations of Member Consortia and their representatives - 2.1.2<https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/raw-file/default/cover.html#RelatedAndConsortiumMembers>

The Problems:

When we introduced the Introductory Industry Membership level [4, 5] we imposed limitations on the rights and privileges of this category of Member. The proposed change eliminates the disagreement between the current terms of an Introductory Industry Member per their Member Agreement and this section of the Process which implies such Members may participate in (all) Working Groups and Interest Groups.



[4] http://www.w3.org/Consortium/fees?showall=1

[5] http://www.w3.org/2014/08/intromem



In looking at the way we define the entitlements of Member Organizations that are also a Consortium in nature, there are a couple of issues that need to be addressed.  They arise from the fact that we allow these Members to appoint four (or more) people to represent them within W3C.  While we say they are there to represent the Consortium we have been experiencing cases where these designated representatives are in fact representing their own interests.  This opens an IP exposure for W3C because we don't have commitments from their employers just from the Consortium.  It also offers a "back door" for large corporations to participate without joining themselves.  The proposed changes, in section 2.1.2<https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/raw-file/default/cover.html#RelatedAndConsortiumMembers>, attempt to close those loopholes.


Clarified the process for continuing work on a specification initially developed under another charter - 5.2.3<https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/raw-file/default/cover.html#CharterReview>, 5.2.4<https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/raw-file/default/cover.html#cfp>, 5.2.6<https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/raw-file/default/cover.html#WGCharter>, 6.2.2<https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/raw-file/default/cover.html#transition-reqs>.
When the W3C Patent Policy and Process Documents were drafted, some Members may have assumed that work on a W3C Recommendation would be the product of work under a single Working Group charter; instead, Working Drafts often evolve through multiple Working Group charters. The major uncertainty has often been phrased as "When do Working Groups end?", but in fact concerns the situation where a Recommendation is developed under more than one Working Group Charter.  Many specifications take more than one charter period to move from First Public Working Draft to Recommendation. There is less than perfect clarity on whether a re-chartered Working Group is the same or a different group and trying to clarify that in the Process seems unlikely to reach consensus readily.

I'm not sure I agree with how the above sentence is phrased.  Ultimately, the document says what it says and clarity could be provided in a court of law (hopefully it never comes to that).  I would rather skip this sentence and resume with the next sentence: "There is a ..."

SZ: The sentence that you are not sure about went out under your signature in the April update to the AC on AB progress on this issue https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Member/w3c-ac-forum/2016AprJun/0176.html.  I just copied that paragraph. I do, however, agree with your point. How about dropping that sentence and fixing the problem with the next sentence by saying,
"There is a longstanding practice of adopting a Working Draft that was published under a previous charter, and continuing to develop it in a Working Group with a newer charter."
This avoids the issue of discussing whether or not two WGs of the same name are the same or different WGs.


  However there is a longstanding practice of adopting a Working Draft that was published under a previous charter, and continuing to develop it

this sentence appears incomplete.



The changes apply to Working Drafts that have had a full exclusion opportunity under a Working Group pursuant to the Patent Policy (i.e., Reference Draft (RD) issued within 90 days of a First Public Working Draft (FPWD) and a Candidate Recommendation (CR) (called Last Call Working Draft (LCWD) in the Patent Policy).

The changes in this draft cover:
a)    A change in the W3C Process Document to clarify how work can continue under a new Working Group charter on a Working Draft that has already had a full exclusion opportunity; and
b)    Suggested improvements in practice to improve the ability to trace the origin of Working Drafts, and their associated Reference Drafts and Candidate Recommendations.

The most relevant text, currently in section 5.2.6 Working Group and Interest Group Charters, is:

"For every Recommendation Track deliverable that continues work on a Working Draft (WD) published under any other Charter (including a predecessor group of the same name), for which there is an existing Reference Draft or Candidate Recommendation, the description of that deliverable in the proposed charter of the adopting Working Group must provide the following information:

  *   The title, stable URL, and publication date of the Adopted Working Draft which will serve as the basis for work on the deliverable
  *   The title, stable URL, and publication date of the most recent Reference Draft or Candidate Recommendation<https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/raw-file/default/cover.html#last-call> which triggered an Exclusion Opportunity per the Patent Process
  *   The stable URL of the Working Group charter under which the most recent Reference Draft or Candidate Recommendation was published.

The Reference Draft is the latest Working Draft published within 90 days of the First Public Working Draft, and is the draft against which exclusions are be made, as per section 4.1<https://www.w3.org/Consortium/Patent-Policy/#sec-exclusion-with> of the W3C Patent Policy<https://www.w3.org/Consortium/Patent-Policy> [PUB33<https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/raw-file/default/cover.html#ref-patentpolicy>].

The Adopted Working Draft and the most recent Reference Draft or Candidate Recommendation<https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/raw-file/default/cover.html#last-call> must each be adopted in their entirety and without any modification. The proposed charter must state that the most recent Reference Draft or Candidate Recommendation is deemd to be the Reference Draft or Candidate Recommendation in the adopting Working Group, and that the Exclusion Opportunity that arose as a consequence of publishing a First Public Working Draft or Candidate Recommendation has finished, meaning any exclusions against those drafts must be made on joining the group, as per section 4.3<https://www.w3.org/Consortium/Patent-Policy/#sec-join> of the W3C Patent Policy<https://www.w3.org/Consortium/Patent-Policy> [PUB33<https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/raw-file/default/cover.html#ref-patentpolicy>]

The Director must not issue a call for participation less than 60 days after the beginning of an Advisory Committee Review for a charter that continues work on a Reference Draft or Candidate for which an Exclusion Opportunity has occurred."

Other changes are in 5.2.3<https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/raw-file/default/cover.html#CharterReview>, 5.2.4<https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/raw-file/default/cover.html#cfp>, 6.2.2<https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/AB/raw-file/default/cover.html#transition-reqs>
Note:  Except for Section 3.1 of the Patent Policy, there is no explicit statement in the
Patent Policy that commitments made under the Patent Policy ever expire.