Disentangling the Note track from the W3C Recommendation track

Hello fellow spec-editors and friends!

The Process CG is considering detangling the REC and NOTE tracks in order to 
make the Process more straightforward. The specific changes we are considering 
are:

   * Introduce a new, dedicated status for documents retired from
     the REC track (provisionally called "Discontinued Draft
     Recommendation" but we can bikeshed that), to replace usage of
     Notes for that purpose.

   * Introduce a new, dedicated status to represent the optional
     drafting stage of a NOTE (provisionally called "Draft Note"),
     that does not invoke the Patent Policy, to replace this use of
     WDs; and allow IGs to also publish them. (WD status is not
     available to IGs because it invokes the Patent Policy.)

   * Remove transitions between the two tracks, except maybe the
     ability to restart on the other track if the WG realizes the
     document belongs on the other track.

Problems with the current Process:
   * Confusion over the status of NOTEs representing former REC-track
     documents.
   * Triggering Calls for Exclusions for WDs of NOTEs.
   * IGs unable to use a drafting stage for NOTEs.
   * Possibility of, e.g. CR->NOTE->NOTE->CR which has confusing and
     unfortunate implications for patent protection of changes made
     while off the REC track.

Hesitations about the changes:
   * Introduces two more possible document statuses.

The Process CG wants to know if there's support for these changes, or if there 
are concerns, so we know whether they are worth adopting for Process 2021!

Please let us know what you think.

Thanks~
~fantasai

P.S. Anyone who cares about details is welcome to have a look at the actual 
pull request:
     https://github.com/w3c/w3process/pull/488/files
Issue & discussion, with diagrams of the Process before/after the changes:
     https://github.com/w3c/w3process/issues/342

Received on Thursday, 11 February 2021 03:42:38 UTC