Guidelines For The Internet Society Board of Trustees Liaison To the IETF Nomination Committee

LAST UPDATE: August 5, 2012

These apply when the liaison is speaking to Nomination Committee in his or her liaison role.

The main role of the Internet Society Board of Trustees Liaison is to follow the process and make sure that the process is followed as defined in RFC3777. The liaison should promptly advise the IETF NomCom chair if she or he feels that the process is not being followed.

The liaison should provide periodic reports to the Internet Society Board of Trustees that are consistent with the confidentiality rules in RFC3777.

The person who fills the liaison role may also provide personal feedback to Nomination Committee but only through communication channels available to general IETF participants (e.g. the feedback web form).  When interacting with the Nomination Committee through liaison channels, the liaison will represent the views of the Internet Society Board of Trustees rather than his or her personal opinion.

  1. When the Liaison is speaking to Nomination Committee in their liaison role it should not be possible for the Nomination Committee to determine the Liaison’s personal opinion about a particular candidate or NomCom process.  Liaisons should stick to facts and views that the Liaison believes represent the consensus of the Internet Society’s Board of Trustees.  The Liaison should avoid personal opinions.
  2. Follow Nomination Committee Liaison Rules in RFC 3777, which includes: Liaisons are expected to represent the views of their respective organizations during the deliberations of the committee. They should provide information as requested or when they believe it would be helpful to the committee.
  3. Act in the best interest of the IETF.

Meta-guideline: When any of the three guidelines are in conflict, the liaison will use their best judgment to resolve the conflict.  Guideline 1 should override guideline 3 when they are in conflict.