**Session Date/Time:** 15 Oct 2024 18:00

# [TOOLS](../wg/tools.html)

## Summary

The TOOLS working group discussed several critical infrastructure updates and upcoming changes. Key points included a reset of the email processing transition strategy, detailed plans and challenges for the Trust Legal Provisions (TLP) transition, and the urgent need for stable person identifiers within the data tracker. Progress reports were also provided on submission staging, the registration system, and the RFC editor website.

## Key Discussion Points

*   **Email Processing Transition:**
    *   Work on the cloud transition has been halted, with current efforts focused on resolving rough edges from the mailman 2 to mailman 3 migration (e.g., Python 2 to Python 3 compatibility).
    *   Automation of list configuration, previously manual, is nearly complete, with a few edge cases remaining (e.g., changing global allow list configuration after list creation).
    *   Stricter Python 3 library code has led to some messages being rejected as malformed; improved logging and trace messages now provide better insight.
    *   The current approach for the long-term email processing solution is deemed unlikely to meet IETF needs, necessitating a reset and definition of a new foundational approach in the coming weeks.

*   **Trust Legal Provisions (TLP) Transition:**
    *   The Trust is developing a document defining new boilerplate for Internet-Drafts and RFCs, with text changes expected to be relatively small. A draft PR on XML-to-RFC reflects the proposed text.
    *   New XML-RFC tokens, analogous to TLP 200902, will be introduced, likely anchored at TLP 202402.
    *   A target transition date of end-December is desired, contingent on the Trust publishing TLP6.
    *   Analogous changes will be made in ID Nits 2 and ID Nits 3. Publication of TLP6 on the Trust's website will be the strongest signal of readiness.
    *   The Trust is moving to the `IETF Intellectual Property Management Corporation` (IPMC), which will involve new domain names and a website. The TLP acronym will be retained, with 'T' now representing 'Technical'.
    *   A participant raised concerns about `xml2rfc`'s implicit insertion of `trust 200902` and the challenge of transitioning users to a new default without "betraying" their expectation. Discussed options included requiring explicit declarations, providing warnings, or using tool versioning to signify a default change. The data tracker will eventually reject submissions using the old TLP, which will reinforce the need for explicit declarations.

*   **Data Tracker Person Identifiers:**
    *   A growing need exists for a stable, unique handle for Data Tracker persons for use by other applications (e.g., Meetecho, RPC editor workflow, Zulip).
    *   Current identifiers like names (change, duplicates) and email addresses (historical gaps, changes) are insufficient.
    *   The problem of individuals having multiple Data Tracker person records (often due to new email addresses) needs to be addressed for application integration, beyond the Secretariat's merging capabilities.
    *   Investigation into creating opaque identifiers, such as UUIDs, for each person record is underway. These identifiers would facilitate remote application interaction with the Data Tracker. Existing profile URLs are not planned to change.

*   **Posting Submission Issue:**
    *   A recent issue required manual intervention for approximately three dozen drafts to be posted correctly. All affected drafts have been fixed. This highlighted issues with the current submission staging process.
    *   **Upcoming Data Tracker Change:** The current method of staging unconfirmed submissions on the file system (exposed via `www.ietf.org`) will be changed. Future submissions will be stored directly in the Data Tracker database or a blob store until confirmed and posted, eliminating issues like NFS negative caching.

*   **Registration System:**
    *   The registration system is being modified to allow registration for more than one upcoming meeting simultaneously. This change aims to accommodate participants requiring longer lead times for visas or travel permissions. Deployment is expected before IETF 121.

*   **"AD is watching" state:** The "AD is watching" state in the data tracker has been removed.

*   **RFC Editor Website:** A request was made for a testing URL or pre-look access to the new RFC Editor website. This is not yet available, and reviewing screenshots in the relevant PRs remains the best option for now.

## Decisions and Action Items

*   **Email Processing:** Work on the cloud transition is halted. Focus will be on stabilizing Mailman 3, and a new strategic approach for IETF email processing will be defined in the coming weeks.
*   **TLP Transition (xml2rfc):** The `xml2rfc` maintainer will implement changes to handle the TLP transition, likely by requiring explicit declaration for new drafts (potentially via versioning) while ensuring backward compatibility for regenerating old drafts.
*   **Data Tracker Person Identifiers:** The IETF TOOLS team will investigate and potentially implement a system for unique, opaque identifiers (e.g., UUIDs) for Data Tracker person records, and is open to suggestions for tools or approaches.
*   **November TOOLS Meeting:** The TOOLS call scheduled for the week immediately following IETF 121 in Dublin will remain scheduled due to ongoing dynamic changes, with the option to cancel at the last minute if there are no topics.

## Next Steps

*   Define the new strategic approach for IETF email processing.
*   Implement changes in `xml2rfc`, ID Nits 2, and ID Nits 3 to support the TLP transition once TLP6 is published.
*   Continue investigation and development of Data Tracker person identifiers.
*   Deploy the updated registration system supporting multiple simultaneous meeting registrations before IETF 121.