[TLS] Re: Improving the quality of the discussion on the TLS email list

"Filippo Valsorda" <[email protected]> Fri, 31 Jul 2026 19:53:54 +0200
Newsgroups gmane.ietf.tls
Message-ID <[email protected]>
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Hi Orr,

Emphasis added:

> Then, have you tried tallying support by =E2=80=9Cpre-existing WG part=
icipants or people with demonstrated expertise=E2=80=9D *using your own =
methodology*? Did you land at a result significantly different from =E2=80=
=9Croughly 7/10=E2=80=9D?

I have high confidence that Tanja, or you if you want to help, can give =
it a useful try.

2026-07-31 19:10 GMT+02:00 Orr Dunkelman <[email protected]>:
> As the ADs did not publicly release the criteria relevant to what is c=
onsidered "prior involvement" (would participation in one discussion bef=
ore the ML-KEM sufficient to be considered in this set of voices?) nor w=
hat are the "experienced people" they deemed to be worthy of being heard=
 (i.e., newcomers who are experienced), it is a bit impossible to make t=
he statistics you have asked Tanja to make. Actually, even putting aside=
 mailing issues, moderation problems, and assuming that indeed all the v=
otes were indeed public, no one but the ADs can make these statistics. T=
his is exactly what reasonable people asked for in this mailing list (in=
cluding people from academia, industry and government) - to get these cr=
iteria publicly available. Hence, contacting IESG, IAB, the UN, or even =
the local fire brigade, is useless until the ADs supply this information=
.=20
>=20
> Furthermore, during the discussion I've pointed out that one of the co=
-designers of MLKEM found the idea of standardizing only MLKEM to be pre=
mature. I am sure that when assigning weights to participants, one of th=
e guys inventing the thing (and especially as this particular individual=
 has years of experience in industry, so this is not just a theoretical =
computer scientist with no understanding of the real world), should prob=
ably get a somewhat higher weight than even people who participated in p=
ast TLS discussions. As the ADs did not report counting this specific in=
dividual's "vote" (that says that the entire idea is bad) it is unclear =
whether it was taken into account. Actually, I hope to ask all the relev=
ant co-designers when I meet them in future conferences [relevant by my =
own personal secret criteria].
>=20
> Cheers,
>=20
>=20
>=20
> On Fri, Jul 31, 2026 at 5:36=E2=80=AFPM Filippo Valsorda <[email protected]=
ilippo.io> wrote:
>> __
>> Excellent, sounds like you land at the same result as the chairs when=
 tallying support by all participants. That=E2=80=99s promising!
>>=20
>> Then, have you tried tallying support by =E2=80=9Cpre-existing WG par=
ticipants or people with demonstrated expertise=E2=80=9D using your own =
methodology? Did you land at a result significantly different from =E2=80=
=9Croughly 7/10=E2=80=9D?
>>=20
>> Assuming you=E2=80=99re not looking a priori for something to object =
to, if you come to the same conclusion using your own methodology, I don=
=E2=80=99t see what good demanding an itemized list would do.
>>=20
>> If you do come to a significantly different result, you can share you=
r methodology in your appeal, and let the ADs, IESG, or IAB assess it.
>>=20
>> 2026-07-31 15:55 GMT+02:00 Tanja Lange <[email protected]>:
>>> Dear Eliot, dear all,
>>> I can tally the emails on list, which were about even in favor and a=
gainst.
>>> The chairs announced that by some process of discarding or weighing =
some votes
>>> they reach 70% in favor. To quote this verbatim=20
>>> "However, if we look at pre-existing WG                       =20
>>> participants or people with demonstrated expertise, roughly 7/10 WG =
                     =20
>>> participants favor advancing the document, which shows rough consens=
us                   =20
>>> to move the document forward."
>>> The requests I've seen, starting right after the chairs announced th=
eir
>>> decision that there was consensus in favor of the document, are aski=
ng for
>>> which input was discarded or counted higher or lower. I cannot do the
>>> "homework" of checking this because I don't know the mechanism used.=20
>>>=20
>>> Additionally, the email asking for responses was sent with
>>> Reply-To: Joseph Salowey <[email protected]>
>>> so that replies would go to Joe's address and to the list only if th=
e sender
>>> chooses to reply to all (or edits the header manually), so there mig=
ht be some
>>> emails that didn't go to the list and which therefore I cannot count=
 when doing
>>> my homework.
>>>=20
>>> Finally, there are reports of messages not appearing on list despite=
 the
>>> sender responding with the release code. We have seen some messages =
containing
>>> release codes appear on list (I hadn't seen that in any previous dis=
cussion).
>>> My understanding is that the chairs see those, and maybe that's wher=
e the
>>> chairs saw additional support, but I cannot count these in my homewo=
rk.
>>>=20
>>> Hence, I would like to support the request for transparency of how t=
he 7/10
>>> (quoted above) was reached.
>>>=20
>>> All the best
>>> Tanja
>>>=20
>>> On Fri, Jul 31, 2026 at 01:02:26PM +0200, Eliot Lear wrote:
>>> > Hi,
>>> >=20
>>> > On 31.07.2026 12:37, Ken Kubota wrote:
>>> >=20
>>> >     There have been repeated requests [1, 2] that the working grou=
p chairs release the participant chart/list/table publicly that supports=
 the 70 % claim ("7/10 WG participants favor advancing the document" [3]=
).
>>> >=20
>>> > Unnecessary.  All the information used by the chairs is publicly a=
vailable on
>>> > this list.  Do your own homework.  Stop making work for others.
>>> >=20
>>> >=20
>>>=20
>>>=20
>>>=20
>>>=20
>>>=20
>>>=20
>>> > _______________________________________________
>>> > TLS mailing list -- [email protected]
>>> > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected]
>>>=20
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> TLS mailing list -- [email protected]
>>> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected]
>>>=20
>>=20
>> _______________________________________________
>> TLS mailing list -- [email protected]
>> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected]

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<!DOCTYPE html><html><head><title></title></head><body><div>Hi Orr,</div=
><div><br></div><div>Emphasis added:</div><div><br></div><blockquote typ=
e=3D"cite"><div>Then, have you tried tallying support by =E2=80=9Cpre-ex=
isting WG participants or people with demonstrated expertise=E2=80=9D <b=
>using your own methodology</b>? Did you land at a result significantly =
different from =E2=80=9Croughly 7/10=E2=80=9D?<br></div></blockquote><di=
v><br></div><div>I have high confidence that Tanja, or you if you want t=
o help, can give it a useful try.</div><div><br></div><div>2026-07-31 19=
:10 GMT+02:00 Orr Dunkelman &lt;<a href=3D"mailto:[email protected]">o=
[email protected]</a>&gt;:</div><blockquote type=3D"cite" id=3D"qt" sty=
le=3D""><div dir=3D"ltr"><div>As the ADs did not publicly release the cr=
iteria relevant to what is considered "prior involvement" (would partici=
pation in one discussion before the ML-KEM&nbsp;sufficient to be conside=
red in this set of voices?) nor what are the "experienced people" they d=
eemed to be worthy of being heard (i.e., newcomers who are experienced),=
 it is a bit impossible to make the statistics you have asked Tanja to m=
ake. Actually, even putting aside mailing issues, moderation problems, a=
nd assuming that indeed all the votes were indeed public, no one but the=
 ADs can make these statistics. This is exactly what reasonable people a=
sked for in this mailing list (including people from academia, industry =
and government) - to get these criteria publicly available. Hence, conta=
cting IESG, IAB, the UN, or even the local fire brigade, is useless unti=
l the ADs supply this information.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Furthe=
rmore, during the discussion I've pointed out that one of the co-designe=
rs of MLKEM&nbsp;found the idea of standardizing only MLKEM to be premat=
ure. I am sure that when assigning weights to participants, one of the g=
uys inventing the thing (and especially as this particular individual ha=
s years of experience&nbsp;in industry, so this is not just a theoretica=
l computer scientist with no understanding of the real world), should pr=
obably get a somewhat higher weight than even people who participated in=
 past TLS discussions. As the ADs did not report counting this specific =
individual's "vote" (that says that the entire idea is bad) it is unclea=
r whether it was taken into account. Actually, I hope to ask all the rel=
evant co-designers when I meet them in future conferences [relevant by m=
y own personal secret criteria].</div><div><br></div><div>Cheers,</div><=
div><br></div><div><br></div></div><div><br></div><div class=3D"qt-gmail=
_quote qt-gmail_quote_container"><div dir=3D"ltr" class=3D"qt-gmail_attr=
">On Fri, Jul 31, 2026 at 5:36=E2=80=AFPM Filippo Valsorda &lt;<a href=3D=
"mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>&gt; wrote:</div=
><blockquote class=3D"qt-gmail_quote" style=3D"margin-top:0px;margin-rig=
ht:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-=
left-style:solid;border-left-color:rgb(204, 204, 204);padding-left:1ex;"=
><div><u></u><br></div><div><div>Excellent, sounds like you land at the =
same result as the chairs when tallying support by all participants. Tha=
t=E2=80=99s promising!</div><div><br></div><div>Then, have you tried tal=
lying support by =E2=80=9Cpre-existing WG participants or people with de=
monstrated expertise=E2=80=9D using your own methodology? Did you land a=
t a result significantly different from =E2=80=9Croughly 7/10=E2=80=9D?<=
/div><div><br></div><div>Assuming you=E2=80=99re not looking a priori fo=
r something to object to, if you come to the same conclusion using your =
own methodology, I don=E2=80=99t see what good demanding an itemized lis=
t would do.</div><div><br></div><div>If you do come to a significantly d=
ifferent result, you can share your methodology in your appeal, and let =
the ADs, IESG, or IAB assess it.</div><div><br></div><div>2026-07-31 15:=
55 GMT+02:00 Tanja Lange &lt;<a href=3D"mailto:[email protected]" =
target=3D"_blank">[email protected]</a>&gt;:</div><blockquote type=
=3D"cite" id=3D"qt-m_-6319647677144171176qt"><div>Dear Eliot, dear all,<=
/div><div>I can tally the emails on list, which were about even in favor=
 and against.</div><div>The chairs announced that by some process of dis=
carding or weighing some votes</div><div>they reach 70% in favor. To quo=
te this verbatim&nbsp;</div><div>"However, if we look at pre-existing WG=
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;=
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;=
</div><div>participants or people with demonstrated expertise, roughly 7=
/10 WG&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;=
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;=
</div><div>participants favor advancing the document, which shows rough =
consensus&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nb=
sp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div>to m=
ove the document forward."</div><div>The requests I've seen, starting ri=
ght after the chairs announced their</div><div>decision that there was c=
onsensus in favor of the document, are asking for</div><div>which input =
was discarded or counted higher or lower. I cannot do the</div><div>"hom=
ework" of checking this because I don't know the mechanism used.&nbsp;</=
div><div><br></div><div>Additionally, the email asking for responses was=
 sent with</div><div>Reply-To: Joseph Salowey &lt;<a href=3D"mailto:joe@=
salowey.net" target=3D"_blank">[email protected]</a>&gt;</div><div>so that=
 replies would go to Joe's address and to the list only if the sender</d=
iv><div>chooses to reply to all (or edits the header manually), so there=
 might be some</div><div>emails that didn't go to the list and which the=
refore I cannot count when doing</div><div>my homework.</div><div><br></=
div><div>Finally, there are reports of messages not appearing on list de=
spite the</div><div>sender responding with the release code. We have see=
n some messages containing</div><div>release codes appear on list (I had=
n't seen that in any previous discussion).</div><div>My understanding is=
 that the chairs see those, and maybe that's where the</div><div>chairs =
saw additional support, but I cannot count these in my homework.</div><d=
iv><br></div><div>Hence, I would like to support the request for transpa=
rency of how the 7/10</div><div>(quoted above) was reached.</div><div><b=
r></div><div>All the best</div><div>Tanja</div><div><br></div><div>On Fr=
i, Jul 31, 2026 at 01:02:26PM +0200, Eliot Lear wrote:</div><div>&gt; Hi=
,</div><div>&gt;&nbsp;</div><div>&gt; On 31.07.2026 12:37, Ken Kubota wr=
ote:</div><div>&gt;&nbsp;</div><div>&gt;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There h=
ave been repeated requests [1, 2] that the working group chairs release =
the participant chart/list/table publicly that supports the 70 % claim (=
"7/10 WG participants favor advancing the document" [3]).</div><div>&gt;=
&nbsp;</div><div>&gt; Unnecessary.&nbsp; All the information used by the=
 chairs is publicly available on</div><div>&gt; this list.&nbsp; Do your=
 own homework.&nbsp; Stop making work for others.</div><div>&gt;&nbsp;</=
div><div>&gt;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><d=
iv><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>&gt; ___________________=
____________________________</div><div>&gt; TLS mailing list --&nbsp;<a =
href=3D"mailto:[email protected]" target=3D"_blank">[email protected]</a></div><di=
v>&gt; To unsubscribe send an email to&nbsp;<a href=3D"mailto:tls-leave@=
ietf.org" target=3D"_blank">[email protected]</a></div><div><br></div><=
div>_______________________________________________</div><div>TLS mailin=
g list --&nbsp;<a href=3D"mailto:[email protected]" target=3D"_blank">tls@iet=
f.org</a></div><div>To unsubscribe send an email to&nbsp;<a href=3D"mail=
to:[email protected]" target=3D"_blank">[email protected]</a></div><di=
v><br></div></blockquote><div><br></div></div><div>_____________________=
__________________________</div><div> TLS mailing list -- <a href=3D"mai=
lto:[email protected]" target=3D"_blank">[email protected]</a></div><div> To unsub=
scribe send an email to <a href=3D"mailto:[email protected]" target=3D"=
_blank">[email protected]</a></div></blockquote></div></blockquote><div=
><br></div></body></html>
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