RFC 7437

IAB, IESG, and IAOC Selection, Confirmation, and Recall Process: Operation of the Nominating and Recall Committees

📅 published January 2015, from ietf

RFC 7437: IAB, IESG, and IAOC Selection, Confirmation, and Recall Process 🎀

Okay bestie, this one is a Best Current Practice (it's BCP 10, so it's the official how-we-do-it guide 💅). It's RFC 7437, published in January 2015 by the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force), with M. Kucherawy as the editor (that's the "Ed." part). It's series ISSN 2070-1721, and it obsoletes five older RFCs: 3777, 5078, 5633, 5680, and 6859 🫶. The header doesn't list any "updates," so it's not updating anything else.

Abstract ✨

So the process for picking, confirming, and recalling members of the IAB, the IESG, and some IAOC members is all written down here 📝. It's a self-consistent, organized compilation of how the process worked when RFC 3777 was published, plus all the updates made since then. Think of it as the whole glow-up in one place 💖.

Status of This Memo 🌸

This memo documents an Internet Best Current Practice.

This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). It represents the consensus of the IETF community. It went through public review and got approved for publication by the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) 🙌. If you want more info on BCPs, check out Section 2 of RFC 5741. For the current status, any errata, and how to send feedback, go to http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7437 🔗.

Copyright Notice 🦋

The copyright is held by the IETF Trust and the people listed as document authors, and all rights are reserved ©️ (2015).

This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal Provisions Relating to IETF Documents, which you can find at http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info, as they were in effect on the publication date. Please read those carefully, bestie, because they explain what you can and can't do with this document 📜. Any Code Components pulled out of this document must include the Simplified BSD License text, as described in Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions, and they come without any warranty, as the Simplified BSD License says 🔒.

Table of Contents 🗂️

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   2.  Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   3.  General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     3.1.  Completion Due  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     3.2.  Nominating Committee Principal Functions  . . . . . . . .   5
     3.3.  Positions To Be Reviewed  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     3.4.  Term Lengths  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     3.5.  Mid-term Vacancies  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
     3.6.  Confidentiality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
     3.7.  Advice and Consent Model  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
     3.8.  Sitting Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     3.9.  Announcements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
   4.  Nominating Committee Selection  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
     4.1.  Timeline  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
     4.2.  Term  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
     4.3.  Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
     4.4.  Chair Duties  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
     4.5.  Chair Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
     4.6.  Temporary Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
     4.7.  Liaisons  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
     4.8.  Liaison Appointment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  16
     4.9.  Advisors  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  16
     4.10. Past Chair  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  16
     4.11. Voting Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  16
     4.12. Milestones  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
     4.13. Open Positions  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
     4.14. Volunteer Qualification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
     4.15. Not Qualified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
     4.16. Selection Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
     4.17. Announcement of Selection Results . . . . . . . . . . . .  19
     4.18. Committee Organization  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
   5.  Nominating Committee Operation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
     5.1.  Discretion  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
     5.2.  Selection Timeline  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
     5.3.  Confirmation Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
     5.4.  Milestones  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
     5.5.  Voting Mechanism  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
     5.6.  Voting Quorum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
     5.7.  Voting Member Recall  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
     5.8.  Chair Recall  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  23
     5.9.  Deliberations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  23
     5.10. Call for Nominees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24
     5.11. Nominations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24
     5.12. Candidate Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24
     5.13. Consent to Nomination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  25
     5.14. Notifying Confirming Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  26
     5.15. Confirming Candidates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  26
     5.16. Archives  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  26
   6.  Dispute Resolution Process  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  27
   7.  Member Recall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  28
     7.1.  Petition  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  28
     7.2.  Recall Committee Chair  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
     7.3.  Recall Committee Creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
     7.4.  Recall Committee Rules  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
     7.5.  Recall Committee Operation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
     7.6.  3/4 Majority  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
     7.7.  Position To Be Filled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
   8.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  30
   9.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  30
     9.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  30
     9.2.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  30
   Appendix A.  Changes Since RFC 3777 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  31
   Appendix B.  Oral Tradition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  31
   Appendix C.  Nominating Committee Timeline  . . . . . . . . . . .  32
   Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  35
   Author's Address  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  35

1. Introduction 💖

This document is a revision of and supercedes BCP 10. Basically it republishes [RFC3777] and the other RFCs that updated it into one single spec 🧚. The result is a complete spec for how members of the IAB and IESG, plus some IAOC members, get selected, confirmed, and recalled, as of the date it was approved.

Section 4 of [RFC4071] has more details about the IAOC positions that the nominating committee fills 👑.

Two assumptions are still true for this spec:

The Internet Research Task Force (IRTF) and Internet Research Steering Group (IRSG) are not a part of the process described here.
The organization (and reorganization) of the IESG is not a part of the process described here.

The timeframes here use IETF meetings as the reference point. They assume the IETF meets three times per calendar year, with roughly equal gaps between them. The meetings are called the First IETF, Second IETF, or Third IETF as needed 🗓️.

The next section lists the words and phrases used all over this document, with what they mean.

Most of this document is split into four major topics:

General: This is a set of rules and constraints that apply to the selection and confirmation process as a whole.
Nominating Committee Selection: This is the process for picking the volunteers who will serve on the committee.
Nominating Committee Operation: This is the set of principles, rules, and constraints that guide what the nominating committee does, including the confirmation process.
Member Recall: This is the process for questioning the behavior of a sitting member of the IAOC, IESG, or IAB, which might end with that member being removed 🙈.

A final section describes how this document differs from its predecessor [RFC3777]. There's also an appendix with useful facts and practices collected from previous nominating committees 🍓.

2. Definitions 📖

These words and phrases get used a lot throughout this document, so here they are with their intended meanings for your convenience 🫶.

candidate: A nominee who has been selected to be considered for confirmation by a confirming body.
confirmed candidate: A candidate that has been reviewed and approved by a confirming body.
nominating committee term: The term begins when its members are officially announced, which is expected to happen before the Third IETF, so the committee is fully up and running by then. The term ends at the Third IETF (not three meetings) after the next nominating committee's term begins 🗓️.
IETF Executive Director: The person in charge of running the IETF Secretariat function. (See Section 2 of [RFC3710]).
nominee: A person who is being or has been considered for one or more open positions on the IESG, IAB, or IAOC.
sitting member: A person who is currently serving a term of membership on the IESG, IAB, or ISOC Board of Trustees.

3. General 💅

These rules apply to the process as a whole. If needed, a paragraph explaining how to interpret each rule is included 🔍.

3.1. Completion Due 🗓️

The completion of the annual process is due within seven months.

The completion of the annual process is due one month prior to the Friday of the week before the First IETF. It's expected to begin at least eight months prior to the Friday of the week before the First IETF 🍓.

The process officially begins with the announcement of the Chair of the committee. It officially ends when all confirmed candidates have been announced 🎉.

The annual process has three major components:

The selection and organization of the nominating committee members.
The selection of candidates by the nominating committee.
The confirmation of the candidates.

There's an extra month set aside between when the annual process is expected to end and when the new candidates' terms are supposed to begin. This time can be used during unusual circumstances to extend the time allocated for any of the components listed above ⏳✨.

3.2. Nominating Committee Principal Functions 💅

okay so the main job of the nominating committee is to look at every open IESG, IAB, and IAOC position and nominate either the person already in it (the incumbent) or a superior candidate 🫶

there's no term limit for any IESG, IAB, or IAOC position, but the nominating committee may use length of service as one of its criteria for evaluating an incumbent 🕰️

the nominating committee does not pick which open positions get reviewed. it gets told which positions to review 🙈

the nominating committee will be given the titles of the positions to be reviewed, plus a brief summary of the desired expertise for the candidate who gets nominated to fill each one 📝

incumbents must notify the nominating committee if they wish to be nominated 💌

the nominating committee does not confirm its candidates. it presents them to the appropriate confirming body, as explained below 🎀

a superior candidate is one who the nominating committee believes would contribute in a way that improves or enhances the body they'd be nominated to ✨

3.3. Positions To Be Reviewed 🔍

approximately one-half of each of the then current IESG and IAB positions, and one IAOC position, gets selected for review each year 🗓️

the whole point of this rule is to make sure about half of the IESG and IAB sitting members get reviewed each year, plus one of the two nominated IAOC positions. it's recognized that circumstances may exist that require the nominating committee to review more or fewer positions than usual, e.g., if the IESG, IAB, or IAOC reorganized before this process and created new positions, if there's an odd number of current positions, or if a member unexpectedly resigns 😭

3.4. Term Lengths ⏳

confirmed candidates are expected to serve at least a two-year term 💜

the intent of this rule is to make sure members of the IESG, IAB, and IAOC serve the number of years that best helps review one-half of the members each year 🧚

the term of a confirmed candidate selected under the mid-term vacancy rules may be less than two years, as stated elsewhere in this document 🌸

it's consistent with this rule for the nominating committee to choose one or more of the currently open positions and assign them a term of not more than three years, so the ideal application of this rule works out in the future 🦋

it's also consistent with this rule for the nominating committee to choose one or more of the currently open positions that share responsibilities with other positions (both those being reviewed and those sitting), and assign them a term of not more than three years. that way all of those members won't get reviewed at the same time 👑

all sitting member terms end during the First IETF meeting corresponding to the end of the term for which they were confirmed. all confirmed candidate terms begin during the First IETF meeting corresponding to the beginning of the term for which they were confirmed 🌈

for confirmed candidates of the IESG, the terms begin no later than when the currently sitting members' terms end on the last day of the meeting. a term may begin or end no sooner than the first day of the meeting and no later than the last day of the meeting, as determined by mutual agreement between the currently sitting member and the confirmed candidate. a confirmed candidate's term may overlap the sitting member's term during the meeting, as determined by their mutual agreement 🤝

for confirmed candidates of the IAB and IAOC, the terms overlap with the terms of the sitting members for the entire week of the meeting 🗓️

for candidates confirmed under the mid-term vacancy rules, the term begins as soon as possible after the confirmation ⚡

3.5. Mid-term Vacancies 🚨

mid-term vacancies are filled by the same rules documented here, with four qualifications, namely:

When there is only one official nominating committee, the body with the mid-term vacancy hands the responsibility to fill the vacancy to it. If the mid-term vacancy occurs during the period when the term of the prior year's nominating committee overlaps with the term of the current year's nominating committee, the body with the mid-term vacancy must hand the responsibility to the prior year's nominating committee instead 🫠
If the nominating committee is reconvening to fill the mid-term vacancy, then the completion of the candidate selection and confirmation process is due within six weeks, with all other time periods otherwise unspecified prorated accordingly ⏰
The confirming body has two weeks from the day it's notified of a candidate to reject that candidate. otherwise the candidate is assumed to have been confirmed 📬
The term of the confirmed candidate will be either:
- A. the remainder of the term of the open position, if that remainder is not less than one year, or
- B. the remainder of the term of the open position plus the next two-year term, if that remainder is less than one year 🎂

in both cases, a year is the period of time from a First IETF meeting to the next First IETF meeting 📅

3.6. Confidentiality 🤫

all deliberations and supporting information that relates to specific nominees, candidates, and confirmed candidates are confidential 🔒

the nominating committee and confirming body members will be exposed to confidential information through their deliberations, their interactions with the people they consult, and the people who provide requested supporting information. all members and all other participants are expected to handle this information in a way that matches how sensitive it is 🫢

it's consistent with this rule for current nominating committee members who've served on prior nominating committees to advise the current committee on the deliberations and results of the prior committee, as necessary and appropriate 🧠

the list of nominees willing to be considered for positions under review in the current nominating committee cycle is not confidential. the nominating committee may disclose a list of names of nominees who are willing to be considered for positions under review to the community, to get feedback from the community on these nominees 📣

the list of nominees disclosed for a specific position should contain only the names of nominees who are willing to be considered for that position under review 📋

the nominating committee may choose to leave some names off the disclosed list, at its discretion 🙃

the nominating committee may disclose an updated list, at its discretion. for example, it might do that if it finds errors or omissions in a previously disclosed version, or if it finds it necessary to call for additional nominees and those nominees say they're willing to be considered before the nominating committee has finished its deliberations 🔄

nominees may choose to ask people to provide feedback to the nominating committee, but should not encourage any public statements of support. nominating committees should consider nominee-encouraged lobbying and campaigning to be unacceptable behavior 🚫

IETF community members are encouraged to provide feedback on nominees to the nominating committee, but should not post statements of support or non-support for nominees in any public forum 🙊

unless otherwise specified, the advice and consent model is used throughout the process. this model works like this 🧁

3.7.1. Positions To Be Reviewed 📌

the IETF Executive Director informs the nominating committee of the IESG, IAB, and IAOC positions to be reviewed 📨

the IESG, IAB, and IAOC are responsible for giving the Executive Director a summary of the expertise they want from the candidates selected for their respective open positions. those summaries are then provided to the nominating committee for its consideration 💭

3.7.2. Candidate Selection 🎯

the nominating committee selects candidates based on its understanding of the IETF community's consensus on the qualifications required, and advises each confirming body of its respective candidates 💖

3.7.3. Candidate Review 🔎

the confirming bodies review their respective candidates. they may, at their discretion, communicate with the nominating committee, and then consent to some, all, or none of the candidates 🤔

the sitting IAB members review the IESG candidates 🧐

the Internet Society Board of Trustees reviews the IAB candidates 🏛️

the IAOC candidate is reviewed as specified in [RFC4071] 📖

the confirming bodies conduct their review using all information and any means acceptable to them. that includes, but isn't limited to, the supporting information provided by the nominating committee, information known personally to members of the confirming bodies and shared within the confirming body, the results of interactions within the confirming bodies, and the confirming bodies' interpretation of what's in the best interests of the IETF community 🌟

if all of the candidates are confirmed, the job of the nominating committee for those open positions is complete 🥳

if some or none of the candidates submitted to a confirming body are confirmed, the confirming body should communicate with the nominating committee to explain why all the candidates were not confirmed, and to understand the nominating committee's rationale for its candidates 💬

the confirming body may reject individual candidates, in which case the nominating committee must select alternate candidates for the rejected candidates 🔁

any additional time the nominating committee needs should not exceed its maximum time allotment ⏱️

3.7.4. Confirmation ✅

a confirming body decides whether it confirms each candidate using a confirmation decision rule that it chooses 🗳️

if a confirming body has no specific confirmation decision rule, then confirming a given candidate should require at least one-half of the confirming body's sitting members to agree to that confirmation 🙋

the decision may be made by a formal vote, by asserting consensus based on informal exchanges (e.g., email), or by any other mechanism used to conduct the normal business of the confirming body 💌

regardless of which decision rule the confirming body uses, any candidate who is not confirmed under that rule is considered rejected 💔

the confirming body must make its decision within a reasonable time frame. the results from the confirming body must be reported promptly to the nominating committee 📮

3.8. Sitting Members ✨

okay so this one's for the people who already have a seat somewhere 🪑💖 these rules cover nominees and candidates who are currently sitting on the IESG, IAB, or IAOC and who are NOT sitting in an open position the nominating committee is filling 🫶

getting confirmed for a new seat does NOT automatically make a vacancy in the seat they already have 😭 the mid-term vacancy can not exist until two things happen: first, the candidate formally resigns from the current position, and second, the body with the vacancy formally decides for itself that it wants the nominating committee to fill it, following the mid-term vacancy rules written elsewhere in this document 🦋

the resignation should be effective as of when the term of the new position begins 💅 it may stay confidential within the IAB, IAOC, IESG, and nominating committee until the confirmed candidate is announced for the new position 🤫 and the process for filling the seat they vacate, following the rules set out elsewhere in this document, may begin as soon as that vacancy is publicly announced 🌸

filling a mid-term vacancy is a separate and independent action from the usual action of filling open positions 🧩 so a nominating committee has to finish its job on the open positions first, and then separately move on to filling the mid-term vacancy, following the mid-term vacancy rules written elsewhere in this document ✨

⚠️ there is one exception, and it's for when the candidate for an open position is currently a sitting member of the IAB. in that case it's consistent with these rules for the resignation announcement and the announcement of the confirmed candidate for the mid-term vacancy created on the IAB to all happen at the same time 🙈 as long as the events actually happened in this order:

The nominating committee completes the advice and consent process for the open position being filled by the candidate currently sitting on the IAB. 💖
The newly confirmed candidate resigns from their current position on the IAB. 🎀
The IAB with the new mid-term vacancy requests that the nominating committee fill the position. 🦋
The Executive Director of the IETF informs the nominating committee of the mid-term vacancy. 🌈
The nominating committee acts on the request to fill the mid-term vacancy. 👑

3.9. Announcements 📣

every announcement must go out using at least the same mechanism the IETF Secretariat uses for its announcements, including a notice on the IETF web site 🌐 no skipping it, bestie 💅

as of when this document was published, that mechanism is an email message sent to both the "ietf" and the "ietf-announce" mailing lists 📧💜

4. Nominating Committee Selection 🎀

these rules cover how the nominating committee gets created and how its members get picked 🧚

4.1. Timeline ⏰

finishing the process of selecting and organizing the nominating committee members is due within three months 🍓

the selection and organization process is due at least one month before the Third IETF 🗓️ this way the nominating committee is fully set up and ready for interviews and consultation during the Third IETF ✨

4.2. Term 🌸

a nominating committee's term is expected to be 15 months 💅

the whole point is that the end of one nominating committee's term overlaps the beginning of the next one's term by about three months 🦋

a nominating committee's term begins when its members are officially announced 📣 it ends at the Third IETF (not three meetings) 🙈 which means the IETF meeting after the next nominating committee's term begins 💖

a term is expected to begin at least two months before the Third IETF 🍓 that gives the committee at least one month to get organized before it has to prep for the Third IETF 🫶

a nominating committee is expected to finish any work in progress before it is dissolved at the end of its term 🌈

during the overlap, every mid-term vacancy gets handed to the prior year's nominating committee 💜 that prior committee has no other responsibilities during the overlap period 🙅‍♀️ at all other times there is exactly one official nominating committee, and it's responsible for all mid-term vacancies 👑

when the prior year's nominating committee is filling a mid-term vacancy during the overlap, the two committees operate independently ✌️ still, they need some coordination between them 🤝 and since the prior year's Chair is a non-voting advisor to the current nominating committee, that coordination is expected to be pretty straightforward 💅

4.3. Structure 🧩

the nominating committee has at least a Chair, 10 voting volunteers, two liaisons, and an advisor 🎀

any committee member may propose adding an advisor to take part in some or all of the committee's deliberations ✨ the addition must be approved by the committee using its established voting mechanism 🗳️ advisors participate as individuals 🧚

any committee member may also propose adding a liaison from other unrepresented organizations to take part in some or all of the deliberations 🌸 the addition must be approved by the committee using its established voting mechanism 🗳️ liaisons participate as representatives of their respective organizations 🏳️‍🌈

the Chair is selected according to rules stated elsewhere in this document 👑

the 10 voting volunteers are selected according to rules stated elsewhere in this document 🙋‍♀️

the IESG and IAB liaisons are selected according to rules stated elsewhere in this document 🦋

the Internet Society Board of Trustees may appoint a liaison to the nominating committee at its own discretion 💜

the Chair of last year's nominating committee serves as an advisor, according to rules stated elsewhere in this document 🫶

the Chair, liaisons, and advisors do not vote on the selection of candidates 🙊 they do vote on all other issues before the committee, unless this document says otherwise 🗳️

4.4. Chair Duties 👑

the Chair of the nominating committee is responsible for making sure the committee finishes its assigned duties on time 🕰️ and that it performs in the best interests of the IETF community 💖

the Chair must be thoroughly familiar with the rules and guidance throughout this document 📚 the Chair must also make sure the committee finishes its assigned duties in a way that's consistent with this document 🎀

the Chair must attest, by proclamation at a plenary session of the First IETF, that the committee's results represent its best effort and the best interests of the IETF community 📣✨

the Chair does not vote on the selection of candidates 🙈

4.5. Chair Selection 🧚

the Internet Society President appoints the Chair 👑 and the Chair must meet the same requirements for membership on the nominating committee as a voting volunteer 💅

the nominating committee Chair must agree to invest the time needed to make sure the committee finishes its assigned duties 🕰️ and to perform in the best interests of the IETF community in that role 🫶

the appointment is due no later than the Second IETF meeting 🗓️ so it can be announced during a plenary session at that meeting 📣 finishing the appointment is necessary so the annual process can complete at the time specified elsewhere in this document 🌈

4.6. Temporary Chair 🌸

a Chair, in consultation with the Internet Society President, may appoint a temporary substitute for the Chair position 🦋

there are all kinds of ordinary situations that can come up that might leave a Chair unavailable to oversee the committee's activities 😭 in those cases, the Chair, in consultation with the Internet Society President, may appoint a substitute from a pool made up of the liaisons currently serving on the committee and the prior year's Chair or designee 💜

any such appointment must be temporary 🙅‍♀️ and it does not take away any or all of the Chair's responsibility for making sure the nominating committee finishes its assigned duties on time ⏰

4.7. Liaisons 💖

liaisons are responsible for making sure the nominating committee in general, and the Chair in particular, carries out its assigned duties in the best interests of the IETF community 🎀

liaisons are expected to represent the views of their respective organizations during the committee's deliberations 📣 they should provide information when requested, or when they think it would help the committee 🧠

liaisons from the IESG and IAB are expected to share information with the nominating committee about how their respective bodies operate, what they're responsible for, and how they're composed 🧩

liaisons are expected to pass questions from the committee to their respective organizations, and pass responses back to the committee, as the committee requests 🔁

liaisons from the IESG, IAB, and the Internet Society Board of Trustees (if one was appointed) are expected to review how the nominating committee operates and carries out its process 🔍 and to report any concerns or issues to the Chair of the nominating committee immediately 🚨 if they can not resolve the issue between themselves, the liaisons must report it according to the dispute resolution process stated elsewhere in this document ⚖️

liaisons from confirming bodies are expected to help the committee prepare the testimony it is required to provide with its candidates 📝

liaisons may take on other nominating committee responsibilities as required by their respective organizations or requested by the nominating committee 💅 except that those responsibilities may not conflict with any other provisions of this document 🙅‍♀️

liaisons do not vote on the selection of candidates 🙊

4.8. Liaison Appointment 🦋

each sitting IAB and IESG member appoints a liaison from their current membership, someone who is not sitting in an open position, to serve on the nominating committee 🫶

4.9. Advisors 🧚

an advisor is responsible for whatever duties are specified in the invitation that resulted in the appointment 📩

advisors do not vote on the selection of candidates 🙈✨

4.10. Past Chair 👑

okay so the Chair of last year's nominating committee becomes an advisor to the current committee, bestie 🫶 they have the whole history and they're literally here to help the new crew out 💖

last year's Chair is expected to keep an eye on what the current Chair is doing and activities going on, and if something seems off they have to flag it to the nominating committee Chair right away 🚨 if they can't sort it out between themselves, last year's Chair must take it through the dispute resolution process that's described elsewhere in this document ✨

if the Chair is unavailable, last year's Chair can pick a designee from a pool made up of the voting volunteers from last year's committee and all the past Chairs 🎀 and if last year's Chair is unavailable, or can't or won't make that call in a timely fashion, the current year's Chair can pick a designee instead, but they have to check with the Internet Society President first 💅

picking someone who sat on last year's committee means the deliberations from last year are right there for the current committee to use 🧠 picking an earlier past Chair means you get both the experience of being a Chair and that Chair's committee deliberations 🌸

and every time this document says "prior year's Chair," it means whoever is actually in that role, whether that's last year's Chair or their designee 🌈

4.11. Voting Volunteers 🦋

voting volunteers are the ones who get the nominating committee's tasks done on time, periodt ⏰

each voting volunteer is expected to put in about the same amount of effort as every other voting volunteer, so nobody's carrying the whole group 💜 the specific tasks get set and managed by the Chair, following the rules described elsewhere in this document 📋

4.12. Milestones ⭐

the Chair must set up and announce milestones for picking nominating committee members 🎯

there's a set amount of time for the selection process to wrap up, and the Chair must put together milestones that, if they're hit on time, will get the whole thing finished on schedule 🗓️

4.13. Open Positions 🍓

the Chair (or the IETF Executive Director, if no Chair has been named four weeks after the First IETF meeting of the year) gets the list of positions up for review and announces it, along with a call for IETF community members who want to volunteer for the nominating committee 📣

if the IETF Executive Director sends out that call for volunteers, the IETF Executive Director must also collect the responses and hand the volunteers' names over to the incoming nominating committee Chair once they've been named 💌

at the Chair's request, the IETF Secretariat can help with other clerical tasks, as long as the task doesn't need nominating committee Chair judgment, in the nominating committee Chair's opinion, and the community gets properly notified that this request is happening 📢 that request can come from the incoming nominating committee Chair (if one's been picked for this cycle) or from the previous nominating committee Chair (if they're still searching for an incoming one) 🔍

the call for volunteers must give the community at least 30 days to decide whether they want to volunteer for the nominating committee ⏳

the list of open positions gets published right alongside the call, so community members can weigh volunteering for an open position against volunteering for the nominating committee 🧐

4.14. Volunteer Qualification 🎓

people in the IETF community must have attended at least three of the last five IETF meetings in order to volunteer 🛫

those five meetings are the five most recent ones that ended before the date the call for nominating committee volunteers was submitted for distribution to the IETF community 📅

the IETF Secretariat is responsible for confirming that volunteers meet the attendance requirement ✅

when volunteering, you have to give your full name, email address, and primary company or organization affiliation (if you have one) 📝

volunteers are expected to know their way around IETF processes and procedures, which you pick up pretty naturally by being active in a working group, especially by being a document editor or working group chair 🧑‍💻

4.15. Not Qualified 🙅‍♀️

anyone who serves on the Internet Society Board of Trustees, the IAB, the IESG, or the IAOC, including people who serve on those bodies in ex officio positions, may not volunteer to be a voting member of the nominating committee 🚫 liaisons to these bodies from other bodies or organizations aren't excluded by this rule 💜

4.16. Selection Process 🎲

the Chair announces both the pool of volunteers that the 10 voting volunteers will be randomly picked from, and the method that'll be used to do the picking 🎰

that announcement should go out at least one week before the random selection happens 📆

the pool of volunteers must be enumerated, or otherwise indicated, in whatever way the chosen selection method needs 🔢

the announcement must spell out the data that'll be fed into the selection method 📊 and the method must depend on random data whose value isn't known or available until the day the random selection happens 🌪️

it must be possible to independently verify that the selection method is fair and unbiased 🔍 a method is fair if every eligible volunteer is equally likely to get picked, and it's unbiased if nobody can influence the outcome to favor a specific result 🫧

it must be possible to repeat the selection method, either by iterating or by restarting it in a way that stays fair and unbiased 🔁 this is needed so selected volunteers can be replaced if they become unavailable after being picked 🙏

the selection method must produce an ordered list of volunteers 📜

one possible selection method is described in [RFC3797] ✨

4.17. Announcement of Selection Results 📣

the Chair randomly picks the 10 voting volunteers from the pool of volunteer names and announces the members of the nominating committee 🎉

no more than two volunteers with the same primary affiliation may be selected for the nominating committee 🙅 the Chair goes through the primary affiliation of each volunteer that the method picks, one at a time 🔎 if a volunteer's primary affiliation matches two volunteers who were already selected, that volunteer gets removed from consideration and the method is repeated to find the next eligible volunteer 🔄

there must be at least two announcements of all members of the nominating committee 📢📢

the first announcement should happen as soon after the random selection as is reasonable for the Chair ⚡ the community must have at least one week during which any member can challenge the results of the random selection 🥊

challenges must be made in writing (email is fine) to the Chair ✉️ the Chair has 48 hours to review the challenge and offer a resolution to the member 🕑 if the member doesn't accept that resolution, they can report the challenge through the dispute resolution process stated elsewhere in this document 🏛️

if a selected volunteer reads the announcement with the list of selected volunteers and finds that two or more other volunteers share their affiliation, the volunteer should tell the Chair, who'll decide what to do 👀

during at least that one-week challenge period, the Chair must contact each of the members and confirm they're willing and available to serve 💬 the Chair should make every reasonable effort to reach each member 🙋‍♀️

if the Chair can't reach a liaison, the problem gets referred to the respective organization to sort out 🤝 the Chair should give the organization a reasonable amount of time to resolve it, and then may go ahead without the liaison ⏱️
if the Chair can't reach an advisor, the Chair may choose to go ahead without the advisor, except for last year's Chair, where the Chair must consult with the Internet Society President as stated elsewhere in this document 👑
if the Chair can't reach a voting volunteer, the Chair must repeat the random selection process to replace the unavailable volunteer 🔁 there should be at least one day between the announcement of the iteration and the selection process 📅

after at least one week, and once it's confirmed that 10 voting volunteers are ready to serve, the Chair makes the second announcement of the nominating committee members, which officially starts the nominating committee's term 🥳💖

4.18. Committee Organization 🧩

the Chair works with the committee members to get the committee organized so they're ready to finish their assigned duties 💪

the committee has about one month to self-organize 🗂️ its responsibilities during this time include, but aren't limited to, the following:

setting up a regular teleconference schedule 📞
setting up an internal web site 🌐
setting up a mailing list for internal discussions 💬
setting up an email address for receiving community input 📬
establishing operational procedures 🛠️
establishing milestones to monitor the progress of the selection process 📈

5. Nominating Committee Operation 🎀

the following rules apply to how the nominating committee operates ✨ if necessary, a paragraph discussing how to interpret each rule is included 📖

the rules are organized roughly in the order they'd be invoked 🌿

5.1. Discretion 🫧

all rules and special circumstances that aren't otherwise specified are at the discretion of the committee 👑

exceptional circumstances will occasionally come up during the normal operation of the nominating committee 🌪️ this rule exists to keep the committee moving forward 🚀

any member of the committee may propose a rule for the committee to adopt 💡 the rule must be approved by the committee according to its established voting mechanism 🗳️

all members of the committee should consider whether the exception is worth mentioning in the next revision of this document, and follow up accordingly 📝

5.2. Selection Timeline ⏳

the process of selecting candidates to be confirmed by their respective confirming body is due within three months 🗓️

the selection process is due at least two months before the First IETF 🛫 this makes sure the nominating committee has enough time to finish the confirmation process 💅

5.3. Confirmation Timeline 🏁

the process of confirming the candidates is due within one month ⏰

the confirmation process is due at least one month before the First IETF 🌟

5.4. Milestones ⭐

okay so the Chair MUST set up a set of nominating committee milestones for the whole candidate selection and confirmation process 📅

There's a defined window of time where the selection and confirmation process has to be finished. The Chair MUST set milestones that, if they're hit on time, get the whole thing done on schedule 💅 The Chair SHOULD leave some room to go back and redo the committee's work if one or more candidates don't get confirmed 🔁

The Chair SHOULD make sure every committee member knows what the milestones are 🫶

5.5. Voting Mechanism 🗳️

The Chair MUST set up a voting mechanism 💖

The committee MUST be able to tell objectively when a decision has been reached during its deliberations. The criteria for deciding that a decision is closed MUST be set and known to every member of the nominating committee ✨

5.6. Voting Quorum 🎀

At least a quorum of committee members MUST take part in a vote 🙌

Only voting volunteers vote on a candidate selection 👑 For a candidate selection vote, a quorum is made up of at least seven of the voting volunteers 💅

At all other times, a quorum is there if at least 75% of the nominating committee members are participating 🌸

5.7. Voting Member Recall 🦋

Any member of the nominating committee can propose to the committee that any other member except the Chair gets recalled. The process for recalling the Chair is defined somewhere else in this document 📜

There's a bunch of normal stuff that can happen and leave one or more committee members unable to do their assigned jobs. Think health stuff, family stuff, or a sudden shift in priorities at work 😭 A committee member may choose to resign for reasons that aren't specified. And honestly, the committee might not run smoothly as a group if a member is disruptive or just not cooperative 💀

No matter what's going on, if committee members can not sort out their differences between themselves, the entire committee may be called on to talk through and review the situation 🫂 If nothing gets resolved, a vote may happen. A member may be recalled if at least a quorum of all committee members agree, and that includes the vote of the member who's getting recalled 🗳️

If a liaison member gets recalled, the committee MUST tell the affected organization and MUST give them a reasonable amount of time to find a replacement before moving on 🌈

If an advisor who isn't the prior year's Chair gets recalled, the committee may choose to keep going without the advisor 🍓 But if it's the prior year's Chair, the Internet Society President MUST be notified, and the current Chair MUST be given a reasonable amount of time to talk with the Internet Society President and figure out a replacement before anything else happens 🧚

If a single voting volunteer seat on the nominating committee becomes vacant, no matter why, the committee may choose to keep going with only nine voting volunteers, totally at its own discretion ✨ In every other case, a new voting member MUST be selected, and the Chair MUST redo the random selection process, including an announcement of the iteration before the actual selection, the way this document describes elsewhere 🎲

A voting volunteer changing their primary affiliation during the committee's term is not a reason to ask for their recall, even if that change means there end up being more than two voting volunteers from the same affiliation 💜

5.8. Chair Recall 👑

Only the prior year's Chair may request the recall of the current Chair 🙅‍♀️

It's the prior year's Chair's job to make sure the current Chair finishes the assigned tasks in a way that matches this document and is in the best interests of the IETF community 🫶

If any committee member has an issue or concern about the Chair, they SHOULD report it to the prior year's Chair right away 🚨 The prior year's Chair is expected to report it to the Chair right away too. If they can not sort it out between themselves, the prior year's Chair MUST report it through the dispute resolution process described elsewhere in this document ⚖️

5.9. Deliberations 💬

All members of the nominating committee may take part in all deliberations 🌷

The main point here is that no member can be explicitly shut out of any deliberation. That said, a member may personally choose not to join a particular deliberation 🫧

5.10. Call for Nominees 📣

The Chair announces the open positions that are going to be reviewed, the desired expertise that the IETF Executive Director provides, and the call for nominees 🎉

The call for nominees MUST include a request for comments about how incumbents have performed in the past, and those comments will be considered during the nominating committee's deliberations 📝 The call MUST ask that a nomination include a valid, working email address, a telephone number, or both for the nominee 📱 The nomination MUST include the set of skills or expertise that the nominator thinks the nominee has that would be desirable 💅

5.11. Nominations 💌

Any member of the IETF community can nominate any member of the IETF community for any open position, and the nominating committee will confirm whether that person is eligible to serve 🙌

Self-nomination is totally allowed 🙋‍♀️

Nominating committee members can't be considered for filling any open position by the nominating committee they're on. They become ineligible the moment the term of their nominating committee officially starts, and they stay ineligible for the whole term 🚫

Even though each nominating committee's term overlaps with the next one's, nominating committee members can be nominated by the following committee as long as they aren't otherwise disqualified 🔁

Members of the IETF community who were recalled from any IESG, IAB, or IAOC position during the previous two years are not eligible to be considered for filling any open position 🚫💀

5.12. Candidate Selection 🔍

The nominating committee selects candidates based on its understanding of what the IETF community's consensus is on the qualifications needed to fill the open positions 🧠

The point of this rule is to make sure the nominating committee checks in with a broad base of the IETF community for input during its deliberations 🫶 Specifically, the nominating committee MUST determine whether the desired expertise for the open positions matches its understanding of the qualifications the IETF community wants 🎯

Consultations are allowed to include names of nominees, as long as everyone in the consultation agrees to follow the same confidentiality rules as the nominating committee itself, or the names are public as discussed in Section 3.6. Feedback on individual nominees SHOULD always be confidential 🤫

A broad base of the community SHOULD include the existing members of the IAB, IAOC, and IESG, especially sitting members who share responsibilities with the open positions (like co-Area Directors), and working group chairs, especially the ones in areas with open positions 🌈

Only voting volunteer members vote to select candidates 🗳️

Nominees SHOULD be told that they're being considered, and they MUST consent to their nomination before they get chosen as candidates 💖

Even though the nominating committee will make every reasonable effort to contact nominees and stay in touch with them, any nominee whose contact information changes during the process, and who still wants to be considered, SHOULD let the nominating committee know about the change 📬

A nominee's consent MUST be in writing (email works!), and it MUST include a commitment to provide the resources needed to fill the open position, plus an assurance that the nominee will do the duties of the position they're being considered for in the best interests of the IETF community ✍️

Consenting to a nomination MUST happen before a nominee becomes a candidate, and it may happen as soon after the nomination as the nominating committee needs 🕐

Consenting to a nomination MUST NOT imply that the nominee will be a candidate 🙅‍♀️

The nominating committee SHOULD help nominees put together justification for their employers 💼

5.14. Notifying Confirming Bodies 📨

The nominating committee tells the confirming bodies about their candidates. It specifies a single candidate for each open position and testifies to how each candidate meets the qualifications for that position 🫡

For each candidate, the testimony MUST include a brief statement of the qualifications for the position being filled, which may be exactly the expertise that was requested. If the qualifications are different from the expertise originally requested, a brief statement explaining the difference MUST be included 🔍

The testimony may include a brief resume of the candidate and/or a brief summary of the nominating committee's deliberations 📄

5.15. Confirming Candidates 🌟

Confirmed candidates MUST consent to their confirmation, and rejected candidates and nominees MUST be notified before the confirmed candidates are announced 📣

It's not necessary to notify and get consent from all the confirmed candidates together 🙃

A nominee may not know they were a candidate. That means a candidate can get rejected by a confirming body without the nominee ever finding out about it 🤫

Rejected nominees who consented to their nomination, and rejected candidates, MUST be notified before the confirmed candidates are announced 💌

It's not necessary to announce all the confirmed candidates together either 🎉

The nominating committee MUST ensure that all confirmed candidates are prepared to serve before their confirmation gets announced 💪

5.16. Archives 🗄️

The nominating committee SHOULD archive the information it has collected or produced for a period of time, but that time can't go over its term ⏳

The whole point of the archive is to help the nominating committee if it ever has to fill a mid-term vacancy 🦋

Whether there's an archive, how it's set up, and what information goes in it is up to the committee's discretion 🫶 That decision MUST be approved by a quorum of the voting volunteer members ✅

Whatever archive gets set up SHOULD make every reasonable effort to keep the information in it confidential 🔐

6. Dispute Resolution Process ✨

Okay so this is the drama-resolution playbook 🫶. It only gets used when the document says so, and using it anywhere else is outside what this doc covers 🙈.

The nominating committee is super hush-hush (strict confidentiality, no cap 🤫), so when process issues pop up, the vibe is to sort them out inside the committee first. If that's not possible or nothing's coming together, this process kicks in 💖.

Here are the ground rules 📜:

The results are final and binding. No appeals, bestie 💀.
The process starts when a request, described below, gets sent to the Internet Society President 📨.
The second it starts, the nominating committee can keep doing its unrelated stuff, but it MUST NOT submit any candidates to a confirming body until the issue is resolved 🚫.
Everyone involved is bound by the same confidentiality rules as each nominating committee member 🤐.
This SHOULD be wrapped up within two weeks ⏰.

The process goes like this 🔄:

The party seeking resolution sends a written request (email works!) to the Internet Society President, spelling out the issue 📝.
The President appoints an arbiter to investigate and resolve it. Self-appointing is allowed 🦸.
The arbiter looks into it, making every reasonable effort to understand both sides 👀. Since the arbiter has the same confidentiality duties as everyone on the committee, all members are expected to cooperate fully and hand over all relevant info for review 🧐.
After chatting with the two main parties, the arbiter decides on a resolution. Whatever needs doing to carry it out starts right away and gets finished as fast as possible ⚡.
The arbiter sums up the issue, the resolution, and the reasoning behind it for the President 📋.
With the President, the arbiter writes a report on the dispute and how it was resolved. It SHOULD include everything the arbiter judges doesn't break the nominating committee's confidentiality requirements 📑.
The Chair includes the dispute report when reporting on nominating committee activities to the IETF community 📣.

7. Member Recall 🦋

Here are the rules for the recall process 🦋. Where needed, a paragraph explains how to read each rule.

7.1. Petition 💌

Anytime, at least 20 IETF community members who qualify as voting nominating committee members MAY request, through a signed petition (email is fine ✉️), that the Internet Society President recall any sitting IAB, IAOC, or IESG member 😤.

Every individual and collective nominating committee eligibility qualification applies here too, including the rule that no more than two signatories can share the same primary affiliation 🌸.

Each signature MUST include a full name, email address, and primary company or organization affiliation 📛.

The IETF Secretariat is in charge of confirming that each signatory qualifies as a voting nominating committee member 🕵️. A valid petition MUST be signed by at least 20 qualified signatories ✅.

The petition MUST include a statement of justification for the recall, plus all relevant and appropriate supporting documentation 📎.

The petition and its signatories MUST be announced to the IETF community 📢.

7.2. Recall Committee Chair 👑

The Internet Society President SHALL appoint a Recall Committee Chair 👑.

The President MUST NOT evaluate the recall request. It's explicitly the IETF community's job to evaluate how its leaders behave 🙅.

7.3. Recall Committee Creation 🧩

The recall committee gets created using the same rules as the nominating committee, with the twist that both the person being investigated and the parties requesting the recall MUST NOT be a member of the recall committee in any capacity 🚷.

7.4. Recall Committee Rules 📘

The recall committee follows the same rules as the nominating committee, except there's no confirmation process 🙅.

7.5. Recall Committee Operation 🔍

The recall committee investigates the circumstances behind the justification for the recall and votes on its findings 🗳️.

The investigation MUST include at least two things: an opportunity for the member being recalled to present a written statement, and consultation with third parties 🗣️.

7.6. 3/4 Majority 💯

A 3/4 majority of the members who vote on the question is REQUIRED for a recall 💯.

7.7. Position To Be Filled 🪑

If a sitting member gets recalled, the open position is filled according to the mid-term vacancy rules 🪑.

8. Security Considerations 🚨

Okay, serious moment 🚨. Any selection, confirmation, or recall process necessarily involves digging into the qualifications and activities of prospective candidates. That digging MAY reveal confidential or otherwise private information about candidates to the people taking part. So everyone who participates in any part of the process MUST maintain the confidentiality of all information that isn't explicitly identified as suitable for public release 🔒.

When the nominating committee decides it has to share confidential or private info with others, the sharing MUST be minimal and MUST include a prior commitment from everyone consulted to follow the same confidentiality rules as the nominating committee itself. No exceptions, babe 🤐.

9. References 📚

9.1. Normative References

[RFC3710] Alvestrand, H., "An IESG charter", RFC 3710, February 2004, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3710>.
[RFC3777] Galvin, J., "IAB and IESG Selection, Confirmation, and Recall Process: Operation of the Nominating and Recall Committees", BCP 10, RFC 3777, June 2004, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3777>.
[RFC4071] Austein, R. and B. Wijnen, "Structure of the IETF Administrative Support Activity (IASA)", BCP 101, RFC 4071, April 2005, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4071>.

9.2. Informative References

[Err232] RFC Errata, "Erratum ID 232", RFC 3777.
[Err4179] RFC Errata, "Erratum ID 4179", RFC 3777.
[RFC3797] Eastlake, D., "Publicly Verifiable Nominations Committee (NomCom) Random Selection", RFC 3797, June 2004, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3797>.

Appendix A. Changes Since RFC 3777 🌈

Here's everything that changed since RFC 3777 💅.

Converted source file from nroff to XML, resulting in some reformatting.
Applied errata for RFC 3777 ([Err232] and [Err4179]).
Applied RFC 5078 update.
Applied RFC 5633 update.
Applied RFC 5680 update.
Applied RFC 6859 update.
Corrected a few grammatical errors.
Added a reference to RFC 3710.

Appendix B. Oral Tradition 🧚

Over the years, various nominating committees have picked up, through oral tradition passed on by liaisons, that the process and the information considered during deliberations have certain consistencies 🗣️. Some items from that oral tradition are collected here so future nominating committees can consider them 🍓.

Experience as an IETF Working Group Chair or an IRTF Research Group Chair helps give a nominee a feel for what the Area Director job involves 💼. It also helps a nominating committee judge the technical, people, and process management skills of the nominee 🧠.
No person SHOULD serve both on the IAB and as an Area Director, except the IETF Chair, whose roles as an IAB member and Area Director of the General Area are set out elsewhere 🙅.
The strength of the IAB is found partly in the balance of its members' demographics (e.g., national distribution, years of experience, gender, etc.), the combined skill set of its members, and the combined sectors (e.g., industry, academia, etc.) they represent 🌈.
There are no term limits explicitly, because the issue of continuity versus turnover SHOULD be evaluated each year according to the expectations of the IETF community, as each nominating committee understands them ⏳.
The number of nominating committee members with the same primary affiliation is limited to avoid the appearance of improper bias in choosing the leadership of the IETF 👑. Rather than defining precise rules for how to define "affiliation", the IETF community depends on the honor and integrity of the participants to make the process work 🫶.

Appendix C. Nominating Committee Timeline 🗓️✨

okay so this appendix is just here for the reader's convenience, bestie 💖 it is NOT the official timeline 🙅‍♀️ it's basically the whole process from the main body squished into one place. if there's ever a conflict, the main body wins, always 💅

the only absolute in the annual timeline is that the process has to be completed by the First IETF of the year after the nominating committee begins its term 🔥 that makes sense, because the confirmed candidate terms start during the week of the First IETF 🎀

the overall annual process is designed to be finished in seven months 🦋 it's expected to start nine months before the First IETF, and the time gets split across three major components, roughly like this:

First is the selection and organization of the committee members. Three months are allotted for this process.
Second is the selection of the candidates by the nominating committee. Four months are allotted for this process.
Third is the confirmation of the candidates by their respective confirming bodies. Two months are allotted for this process.

the list below breaks down the milestones inside each component 🧚 for illustration, it assumes the Friday before the First IETF is March 1. the numbers in square brackets are the expected number of weeks at each step 📅

BEGIN Eight Months Prior to First IETF (approx. June 1); Internet Society President appoints the Chair. The appointment must be done no later than the Second IETF or eight months prior to the First IETF, whichever comes first. The Chair must be announced and recognized during a plenary session of the Second IETF. [0]
The Chair establishes and announces milestones to ensure the timely selection of the nominating committee members. [1]
The Chair contacts the IESG, IAB, and Internet Society Board of Trustees and requests a liaison. The Chair contacts the prior year's Chair and requests an advisor. The Chair obtains the list of IESG, IAB, and IAOC open positions and descriptions from the IETF Executive Director. [0]
The Chair announces the solicitation for voting volunteer members that must remain open for at least 30 days. The announcement must be done no later than seven months and two weeks prior to the First IETF (approx. June 15). [6]
After the solicitation closes, the Chair announces the pool of volunteers and the date of the random selection, which must be at least one week in the future. The announcement must be done no later than six months and two weeks prior to the First IETF (approx. July 15). [1]
On the appointed day, the random selection occurs and the Chair announces the members of the committee and the one week challenge period. The announcement must be done no later than six months and one week prior to the First IETF (approx. July 22). [1]
During the challenge period, the Chair contacts each of the committee members and confirms their availability to participate. [0]
After the challenge period closes, the Chair announces the members of the committee and its term begins. The announcement must be done no later than six months prior to the First IETF (approx. August 1). [1]
The committee has one month during which it is to self-organize in preparation for completing its assigned duties. This must be done no later than five months prior to the First IETF (approx. September 15). [6]
END the Committee Member Selection Process; BEGIN the Selection of Candidates; Time is at least five months prior to the First IETF (approx. September 22). [0]
The Chair establishes and announces the milestones to ensure the timely selection of the candidates, including a call for nominations for the open positions. The announcement must be done no later than five months prior to the First IETF (approx. October 1). [1]
Over the next three months, the nominating committee collects input and deliberates. It should plan to conduct interviews and other consultations during the Third IETF. The committee is due to complete its candidate selection no later than two months prior to the First IETF (approx. January 1). [17]
END the Selection of Candidates; BEGIN the Confirmation of Candidates; Time is at least two months prior to the First IETF (approx. January 1). [0]
The committee presents its candidates to their respective confirming bodies. The presentation must be done no later than two months prior to the First IETF (approx. January 1). [0]
The confirming bodies have one month to deliberate and, in communication with the nominating committee, accept or reject candidates. [4]
The Chair notifies and advises unsuccessful nominees that they have not been selected. [1]
The Chair announces the confirmed candidates. The announcement must be done no later than one month prior to the First IETF (approx. February 1). [4]

Acknowledgments 🫶

a huge amount of work went into the RFCs that came before this one 🥹 the 2014 nominating committee and this editor want to thank every single one of them, once again, for all the time and energy it took to get us to where we are now 🌈 in no particular order, we acknowledge:

  Jeff Case           Fred Baker        John Curran
  Guy Almes           Geoff Huston      Mike St. Johns
  Donald Eastlake     Avri Doria        Bernard Adoba
  Ted T'so            Phil Roberts      Jim Galvin
  Harald Alvestrand   Leslie Daigle     Joel Halpern
  Thomas Narten       Spencer Dawkins   Barry Leiba
  Lars Eggert         Ross Callon       Brian Carpenter
  Robert Elz          Bernie Hoeneisen  John Klensin
  Danny McPherson     S. Moonesamy      Scott Bradner
  Ralph Droms         Pekka Savola

Allison Mankin and Russ White gave early reviews and feedback on this document 🧁

Jari Arkko was super helpful by independently checking that the earlier text from all the merged documents was marshaled correctly into this one, and Adrian Farrel and Brian Carpenter caught the nits that slipped through the cracks 🔍✨

Author's Address 💌

Murray S. Kucherawy (editor)
270 Upland Drive
San Francisco, CA  94127
United States

EMail: superuser@gmail.com

📦 where this page comes from

ietf: rfc7437 2015-01
💖 girlified by claude-haiku-5-5 on 2026-10-18: a language model's rewrite of the original, under its terms