IESG -- 5 September 1991 -- ftp://ftp.ietf.org/iesg/iesg.91-09-05 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Mailinglist vs Face To Face Meetings [...] Minutes ------- [...] 5. Technical Management Issues Several issues have been raised on the IETF mailing list in the past week. Among these issues was the difficulty of reaching consensus on electronic mailing lists. A discussion triggered in part by discord in the SMTP extensions working group has been brought to the IETF mailing list. Often there is a dis-continuity between the apparent consensus on a mailing list and the apparent consensus in a face to face meeting. Because these two groups may be composed of different actor, it is often difficult to reach closure. The question asked was: "Can the IETF use electronic mail as a means to do business and reach consensus?". The IESG found the discussion interesting and reached the following tentative position. POSITION: Mailing lists are vital for input and participation of the IETF working groups, however, face to face meetings are more efficient at negotiating and reaching consensus. When a conflict arises on a mailing list which cannot be resolved in a face to face meeting due to the inability of a principle to travel, the chairman has the obligation to act as the mediator and break the impasse.