[TLS] Re: Response to CoI Complaints

Hi everyone,

I have not had the opportunity to interact with Deb prior to her assuming the role of TLS AD, so I don’t know her very well.

However, I am very much opposed to these unfair attempts to caricature her and reduce her, and think that such approaches (a) oversimplify people and (b) are not intellectually rigorous.

I think that Deb has made a reasonable case for her independence. Furthermore, I think that she has so far been generally reasonable, fair and professional, and I say this even though she has privately disagreed with me on a number of assessments.

I don’t agree with trying to reduce people to a caricature of themselves, whether they may agree or disagree with us.

Furthermore, I think that all proposals in the IETF should be judged based purely on their technical merit. When assessing the security of a scheme, for example, we should make technical arguments. I don’t care if the scheme was submitted by the Dark Lord Sauron or conversely by Lord Elrond, Master of Rivendell. Both are completely irrelevant.

Nadim Kobeissi
Symbolic Software • https://symbolic.software

> On 16 Jul 2026, at 4:15 AM, Damien Miller <[email protected]> wrote:
> 
> On Wed, 15 Jul 2026, Deb Cooley wrote:
> 
>> For the record:  I have been a Security Area Director since March 2024, that
>> is 2 years and a couple of months.   
>> 
>> 
>> There have been previous inquiries into my ability to perform the duties of
>> Security Area Director  via the SSHM working group, and as part of
>> complaints against the TLS chairs/AD.  Those have been responded to by the
>> IESG, the artifacts are below: 
>> 
>> 
>> https://mailarchive.ietf.org/arch/msg/ssh/7KRZCX_bvZWUOG50HqDg_KVT77c/
>> 
>> https://datatracker.ietf.org/group/iesg/appeals/ (see artifacts 125/126, as
>> well as 128/129)
>> 
>> 
>> In addition to the artifacts above, I suggest that there might be people for
>> whom I have worked with that could give an opinion on my work ethic and
>> conduct for the last 2 plus years.
> 
> I haven't experienced anything other than helpfulness, even-handedness
> and professionalism from Deb in my interactions via the SSHM WG over the
> last few years. She's been an effective AD who has helped the WG though
> its inception to publication of its first RFCs. Ironically, and somewhat
> problematically for her critics given the nature of their criticism, the
> first of these was for a hybrid key exchange (RFC 9941) using a non-NIST
> set of algorithms.
> 
> It's very disappointing watching people make smears and insinuations
> without evidence, including "just asking questions" that are filled
> with innuendo. IMO this behaviour reflects more on the critic than
> the criticised, but it also saps time and energy for everyone else
> who has to wade though the muck.
> 
> -d_______________________________________________
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