ron@hardees.rutgers.edu (Ron Natalie) (06/16/89)
I just got a call relayed to me that the 10BASET draft didn't pass the draft vote. Something to do with concerns over adjacent pair interference problems. Somebody on the committee care to elaborate (a longer report from my contacts is supposedly on the way). -Ron
ncpjmw@amdcad.AMD.COM (Mike Wincn) (06/23/89)
In article <Jun.16.09.04.58.1989.13637@hardees.rutgers.edu> ron@hardees.rutgers.edu (Ron Natalie) writes: >I just got a call relayed to me that the 10BASET draft >didn't pass the draft vote. Something to do with concerns >over adjacent pair interference problems. > >Somebody on the committee care to elaborate (a longer report >from my contacts is supposedly on the way). > >-Ron I don't know what you mean by '..didn't pass the draft vote.' It was voted overwhelmingly to go out for letter ballot at the New Orleans Plenary, and 10BASE-T Task Force just spent three days reviewing ballot comments. Mike Wincn ncpjmw@amdcad.AMD.COM (408) 749-3156
pat@hprnd.HP.COM (Pat Thaler) (06/24/89)
ron@hardees.rutgers.edu (Ron Natalie) writes on Jun 16, 1989: > I just got a call relayed to me that the 10BASET draft > didn't pass the draft vote. Something to do with concerns > over adjacent pair interference problems. I wonder where your contact's information came from. As of June 16, only the chair of IEEE 802.3 and myself had the ballot responses. Perhaps your contact was relaying his own concern. > > Somebody on the committee care to elaborate (a longer report > from my contacts is supposedly on the way). > > -Ron > ---------- First, more than most of you ever wanted to know about how IEEE 802 drafts are balloted. Once an IEEE 802 Working Group (such as IEEE 802.3) decides a draft is ready for ballot, the draft is mailed out to all voters and observers in the Working Group. They have 30 days to respond. The ballot cannot be closed until at least 75% of the voters have responded. Voters who consistantly fail to respond can lose their voting rights. A vote can be: Approve Approve with Comments Disapprove (Must attach sufficient comment with wording to enable an affirmative ballot.) Abstain due to Lack of Expertise or Lack of Time To pass, Approves (with or without comments) must be at least 75% of Approves plus Disapproves. Only voters are counted in this tally. More important, according to the IEEE Standards Manual: "Every attempt will be made to resolve comments, objections, and negative votes." If the changes which a negative voter requested are made, the vote automatically becomes affirmative. If the changes are not made or are partially made, the negative voter is informed of the reasons and given an opportunity to change to approve or remain disapprove. Any substantive changes and any unresolved negatives are then circulated and people have a chance to change their votes to No. The amazing thing about this process is that it works. We normally resolve all negatives. Second, why does someone vote Disapprove? If someone believes that there is a technical flaw such that the system won't work. The flaw could be minor and easy to fix such as a mistake in a state machine description. The problem could be that the draft is actually correct but unclear. If someone believes there is an inconsistant use of terminology The inconsistancy may be internal or with usage in other standards or with usage in the industry. If someone believes that the text is not clear and needs rewording, or that a parameter could be better specified another way. The reasons are often small and very specific. It is important that the draft be clear and correct so that designers can implement interoperable products. If there is anything which a voter perceives as needing correction to attain that goal they vote Disapprove. A disapprove rarely means that someone is against the draft as a whole. Now, what about the 10BASE-T ballot? At the 802.3 meeting last March, the vote to initiate the letter ballot was unanimous. This indicates support for a 10BASE-T supplement to 802.3. None of the ballot comments received contradicted this, in my opinion. There were over 50 ballots which contained comments. Obviously some of those comments are redundant, but there is still a large volume of material for the task force to examine and respond to. A response needs to be written for each comment and, in the case of disapproves, reviewed with the voter. The process will probably take several months. I have read every comment we received and, in my opinion, none of the comments points out a fundamental unfixable flaw in the draft. Many of the comments are on clarity and terminology. Some request specific technical changes. Pat Thaler Chair of 10BASE-T My opinions are my own and not necessarily those of IEEE or the 10BASE-T task force.