an alternative to the current REC process

Here’s how I’d change the W3C process.

1.      Stages: Remove First Public Draft.  Replace Heartbeat TR drafts with Editor’s drafts (renamed WG Drafts).   Change Meaning of Last Call and Candidate REC (as below).
2.      Publish Editor’s Drafts on TR page as WG Draft.  Provide source control on editor’s draft so can grab it at any date.
3.      Sections of draft are marked as: 1) proposal; 2) developing; 3) Last Call Review; 4) Stable (completed Last Call without substantive change);  5) Experimental.  Any substantive change to a stable section returns it to proposal or developing or Last Call Review.  Experimental is an alternative to Stable with no guarantee they will not be changed or removed in future versions.
4.      Stages: WG drafts (previously called Editor’s draft).  Can continue to produce these while a version of the draft is frozen during review stages.
5.      Stages: Last Call Review.  Applies to all sections marked as Last Call Review.  If no changes, section is marked as Stable (or Experimental is not in Stable track).
6.      Stages: Candidate REC.  Entry requires all Last Call comments handled and at least 2 implementations of every stable feature.   No proposed or developing features.  (test suites not needed to enter CR).  Advisory Committee “vote” and Director approval to become a CR.
7.      Stages: REC.  No AC “vote” unless an AC rep challenges the test suite.  Otherwise, Director decides if test suite is sufficient.
8.      Patent Policy: keep disclosure rules as is
9.      Patent Policy: adopt Community Group contribution rules for patents for contributor at contribution time (and with later use in follow up spec versions).
10.     Patent Policy: drop Call for Exclusions at first draft (it’s too early and the draft can be unrelated to final spec and it wastes lawyers time).
11.     Patent Policy: Last Call reviews on sections marked as Last Call Review.  Snapshot preserved of the Last Call Review versions.  Any change to a Stable that could change essential claims returns that section to “developing” and requires another review.  Can have as many Last Call reviews as desired.  (Continue to have WG Drafts during and after a Last Call review).
12.     Patent Policy: Patent related obligations occur at Candidate REC.   Patent Policy applies only to Stable sections, not Experimental sections.
13.     Community Groups:  WGs could choose to do their technical work in a CG.  Snapshot taken for LC reviews and for CR and REC.  Snapshots for CR and REC have no “proposal” or “developing” sections.