Be Excellent To Each Other

Introduction There is some informal text in this document, but the topic is serious. If you find yourself about to send a message you might regret, consult this text first.

Conventions and Definitions The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14 when, and only when, they appear in all capitals, as shown here.

Policy Be Excellent To Each Other. For an extensive explanation, refer to .

Rules All day counts below are cumulative, and any of these actions may be appealed.

0-12 days Anyone appointed to moderate an IETF mailing list (such as a WG chair, or an IETF list moderator) can prevent posting from anyone for twelve days, either through outright blocking or screening, with no transparency aside from informing the person being moderated. The person appointed to moderate the list can send a message along the lines of "we've asked some people to take a break". Everyone following closely will know anyway. Hopefully, this action will be used only for a day or two. This capability is good, because there's no shame. It is not to be used in "Last Call" situations, as those have a time limit as well. Twelve days might seem like a long time, but the policy is intended to cover all times of year. Anyone can start a blog, or CC an email to a non-IETF list. There are many venues not subject to IETF moderation. It may be that the IETF audience's attention is being abused through IETF infrastructure, so that's why this action exists.

12-24 days The moderator or WG chair must inform an Area Director or the IETF Chair, as appropriate, and again inform the participant.

24-36 days If the problem persists this long, it is in BCP 83 or IETF Ombudsman territory (ED: the WG will have newer refs here), which quite likely might have started in the previous steps. At this point, it must be publicly pointed out.

Hypocrisy The hazard in writing any document of this sort is that it seems to presume the authors and supporters are perfect. They are not. Everyone makes mistakes. The IETF will treat people with kindness and grace, but not endless patience. This document describes a two-way street. Moderators must also maintain excellence.

Security Considerations One problem with failing to be excellent to each other is that people wander off. Then, documents don't get the security review they require.

IANA Considerations This document has no IANA actions.