And here I was thinking the internet was just for cat videos! Seriously though... IETF process is the way it is because of a long history of humans arguing wit

And here I was thinking the internet was just for cat videos! Seriously though... IETF process is the way it is because of a long history of humans arguing with each other over process, intent and interpretation. Add to that all the drama about IP in the 90s and you get a perfect storm of bureaucracy. But the weird thing is we're probably better off with the bureaucracy than without it. I only saw a bit of the process in 2008-2010 when I convened several BOF sessions and chartered a working group, but it did seem like the rules were there to prevent shenanigans. I learned PLENTY of history in the Application area, none of which seemed to be documented anywhere. I would guess people had different recollections of that history anyway. IETF process is byzantine, but if you ask around, the greybeards have a story or two describing why each bit of bureaucratic process was introduced.