[discuss] What is MSism?

Sat Apr 5 07:53:57 UTC 2014

Hi Pranesh, John,
At 15:59 04-04-2014, Pranesh Prakash wrote:
>As I pointed out to some peers during a talk I 
>gave on Wednesday, the only place in IETF where 
>I see institutional affiliations as structurally present are in IDs, RFCs, etc.
>
>(One could also glean institutional affiliations 
>through the e-mail account used and through 
>e-mail signatures, if used, but that's not officially part of the IETF system.)

Although some people take an informal approach 
there are still institutional constraints and 
external factors.  There isn't a requirement 
where a participant has to disclose institutional 
affiliation.  I'll quote documentation from a formal hearing:

   "Today I am appearing on behalf of the 
[removed], an industry-led coalition with broad
    representation from the communications, 
Internet, and related industries, including
    [removed]."

   "Although I speak only for [removed] and 
[removed], I am also a member of a broader,
    [removed]based coalition of public interest 
non-profits brought together to advocate
    for an internet governance system that 
preserves the open, free, generative and global
    internet."

An individual can have multiple 
affiliations.  Your message is basically about 
conflict of interest.  That can be:

   (a) Corporate interest

   (b) Personal interest

There are external factors which create an 
obligation for an individual to disclose his or 
her interests.  Whether participation is on an 
individual basis or not is a complex matter.

Your previous message was about government 
participation.  A government might view that it 
is in its national interest to influence (IETF) 
standards through participation.  Some 
governments might not consider it as important to participate.

At 18:15 04-04-2014, John Curran wrote:
>Indeed - a necessary wrinkle in the system simply to aid in recognition of
>the actual person contributing - if there were a better way which allowed
>omission of such, it would not surprise me if the IETF moved to it.  The fact

The affiliation is usually mentioned when the 
author is making a contribution on behalf of an 
organization.  The affiliation can be omitted.

Regards,
S. Moonesamy  