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EODIR

Summary

The EODIR session at the Working Group Chairs Forum focused on operational updates, registry policies, and the evolving role of AI in standards development.

The Ombuds team provided a clarification on list moderation versus harassment. The RFC Production Center (RPC) presented its new queue tracking website, updates on GitHub and Markdown pilot programs, and insights into its internal AI testing. This was followed by a discussion on documentation standards for "First Come, First Served" (FCFS) IANA registries. Finally, the group discussed the opportunities and risks of AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) in standards participation, including tools to assist chairs and the necessity of establishing community norms for automated agents.

Key Discussion Points

1. Ombuds Team Update

• Presenter: David Skenazi
• Discussion:
  • Clarified the distinct boundary between harassment (handled confidentially by the Ombuds team) and general Code of Conduct violations (e.g., ad hominem attacks or rudeness on mailing lists).
  • Reminded Working Group Chairs of their responsibility to moderate their own mailing lists and utilize list-control tools before issues escalate. The Ombuds team remains available to offer guidance and advice to chairs.

2. RFC Production Center (RPC) Update

• Presenter: Jean Mahoney
• Discussion:
  • New Queue Website: Launched on May 20 (queue.rfc-editor.org), the site introduces clearer state designations ("In Progress" and "Blocked") and visual cluster diagrams to easily identify normative reference blocks.
  • Retirement of "AUTH48": The phase has been renamed to "final review" to more accurately reflect current practices, as the historical 48-hour deadline is no longer enforced.
  • Unresponsive Authors: If authors do not respond during final review, the RPC sends weekly reminders. Ultimately, Area Directors (ADs) can step in to approve publication on an author's behalf. Jonathan Lennox and Murray Kucherawy discussed via chat where the responsibility to apply pressure should lie (ADs, chairs, or document shepherds).
  • GitHub and Markdown Pilots: 28 documents in the queue are currently participating. Mirja Kühlewind noted that the current separate RPC repository process can sometimes create duplicate work for authors who already maintain their own repositories.
  • Markdown Tooling and Syntax: In response to concerns from Nick Buraglio and Mike Jones regarding the lack of comprehensive documentation for kramdown-rfc syntax, Carsten Bormann highlighted the community wiki (wiki.rfc.space). Jean Mahoney committed to publishing the RPC’s internal Markdown-to-XML "Rosetta Stone" translation table on the RFC authors' website.
  • AI Explorations: The RPC found that using AI agents for text editing was too heavy-handed. However, AI has shown significant utility in formatting checks, source code validation, and cross-referencing terms and capitalization across document clusters.

3. First Come, First Served (FCFS) IANA Registries and Stable References

• Presenter: Jeff Haas
• Discussion:
  • Addressed the challenge of managing FCFS registries to prevent protocol squatting (particularly in protocols like BGP) while ensuring that allocations are backed by stable, long-term documentation.
  • Highlighted the ongoing work within the ianabis activity regarding a hybrid registration mode to establish what constitutes a "stable reference."
  • Longevity of References: Jeff Haas and Rowan May discussed the ephemeral nature of personal wikis or GitHub repositories, suggesting that IANA could potentially host archival snapshots of specifications to ensure long-term durability.
  • Alternative Policies: Lou Berger, David Skenazi, Sean Turner, and Mark Nottingham discussed whether "Specification Required" with permissive instructions to Designated Experts (DEs) already solves this problem. Carsten Bormann noted in the chat that a "Specification Required -- permissive" sub-policy functions well in practice.

4. AI and Standards Participation

• Presenter: Mark Nottingham
• Discussion:
  • Opportunities and Threats: AI acts as a valuable accessibility and comprehension tool (especially for non-native English speakers), but also presents risks, such as mailing lists being flooded with low-quality, AI-generated drafts or automated agents engaging in autonomous debates.
  • IETF LLM Tool: Mark introduced a tool that aggregates a localized corpus of working group assets (emails, tracker info, drafts, transcripts) to allow semantic search via an MCP server or NotebookLM.
  • IETF Skill Tool: Mark introduced a set of structured markdown files that instruct LLMs on how the IETF forms consensus, best practices for contributing constructive text, and protocol design principles (incorporating BCP 56).
  • Establishing Norms: Rowan May and Mike Ounsworth advocated for a strict "human-in-the-loop" norm, asserting that automated posting by agents without manual human approval should be classified as disruptive conduct subject to moderation. Jay Daley shared that he has developed a tool that detects AI-generated or AI-assisted text in IMAP email streams to assist chairs in identifying automated participation.

Decisions and Action Items

• Action Item (RPC): Jean Mahoney to publish the RPC's internal Markdown-to-XML "Rosetta Stone" translation table on the RFC author's website to assist authors utilizing the Markdown pilot.
• Action Item (Chairs/Participants): Direct further technical contributions and policy proposals regarding FCFS registries and stable reference definitions to the ianabis working group mailing list.

Next Steps

• The RPC will continue transitioning its production database toward GitHub, with the goal of eventually making collaborative final reviews in GitHub the default option.
• Mark Nottingham will continue to refine the IETF LLM and IETF Skill tools.
• The community and leadership will continue discussions on establishing formal moderation guidelines for automated agents on IETF mailing lists and GitHub repositories.

Session Date/Time: 24 Jul 2026 05:45

EODIR

Summary

The Education and Outreach Directorate (EODIR) met at IETF 126 to discuss various community outreach programs, diversity initiatives, newcomer mentoring, and specialized training programs. Key updates were provided on regional talent programs, the Hands-on GitHub tutorial, the Working Group Chairs Forum, the SISTERS program, and the Guides program.

Key Discussion Points

1. EODIR Outreach & Regional Initiatives

• Outreach Wiki & IETF 128 Planning: Dhruv Dhody (on behalf of Yaroslav) provided an update on EODIR outreach activities. Greg Wood shared the link to the EODIR Outreach Wiki. Dhruv Dhody encouraged the community to begin planning regional outreach activities early for the upcoming IETF 128 meeting in Kuala Lumpur (KL).
• IIESO Connection Program: Mohit P. Tahiliani presented on the India Internet Engineering Society’s "Connections" event—a pre-IETF meetup designed to educate local participants and encourage remote/in-person attendance. The eighth edition on July 11 gathered 40–45 in-person attendees. Featured topics included PQC, AI native networking, eBPF, and queue management. Mohit P. Tahiliani also announced an upcoming "RFCs we love" session at APNIC 62 in India in September.
• Chinese Youth Talent Program: Chunli Lay updated the group on the Chinese Youth Talent Program. Due to budget constraints, the program sponsored 15 students for this meeting (compared to 60 at IETF 125 in Shenzhen). Demographics show 63% are PhD candidates and 20% are Master's candidates. To date, participants have submitted over 30 individual drafts and delivered more than 10 working group/research group presentations. Georgios Karagiannis shared the Chinese Youth Talent Program Report Link in the chat.
• The IO Foundation (TIOF) Fellowship: Jean F. Queralt reported on the remote fellowship program for IETF 126, which received 22 submissions across APAC and Africa. Eleven fellows from Indonesia and Pakistan actively participated remotely. The program focused on mandatory sessions (New Participants Program, HotRFC, Plenary, IRTF Open) and remote check-ins. In response to a chat question from Benson Muite regarding African participation, Jean F. Queralt clarified that while one African participant was accepted, they did not continue participation past the preparation phase.

2. Hands-on GitHub Tutorial

• Mirja Kühlewind and Karen O'Donoghue reviewed the Sunday session: "Hands-on tutorial: Using the Github web interface for authoring Internet-Drafts".
• The session was limited to 30 registrants (about 31–32 attended) to ensure hands-on assistance, which was supported by Kevin Kelly.
• Feedback & Suggestions:
  • Jean Mahoney recommended introducing GitHub Actions earlier, using dummy markdown documents, and commenting out template features so that initial automated tests pass on the first commit. She also suggested a classroom layout that allows instructors to walk around more easily.
  • In response to a chat query from Tara Tarakiyee about online versions, Mirja Kühlewind noted that while recording the interactive session is difficult, a smaller online interactive session (10–15 people) could be considered.
  • Benson Muite suggested referencing the Carpentries Incubator GitHub guide as a potential resource.
  • Mohit P. Tahiliani suggested creating a short, pre-recorded 20-minute YouTube tutorial showing screen shares of the process so participants can prepare before attending the live hands-on session.

3. Working Group Chairs Forum

• Karen O'Donoghue reported on the Working Group Chairs Forum. She noted that discussions are underway with Area Director Roman Danyliw to restructure the forum's scheduling to resolve Meetecho conflicts.
• Rich Salz highlighted a tool demonstration by Mark Nottingham showing how Working Group information and draft data can be integrated into an LLM for querying. This was well received and kept technical discussions focused on tooling rather than broader AI policy questions.

4. Diversity and Inclusivity Initiatives

• SISTERS Program: The Sisters representative reported highly successful networking sessions, including a breakfast on Monday and a heavily attended lunch on Tuesday. The Sisters' Co-Chair noted that the Sisters' charter (which ran through IETF 124) is being updated on the mailing list to remove its hard expiration date.
• New Participants Program: Michelle Cotton reported that approximately 42% of first-to-fifth-time attendees participated either on-site or remotely. Feedback indicates that newcomers feel welcomed and some are quickly transitioning into draft authors. To assist remote presenters, Michelle Cotton proposed adding an extra MeetEcho test session on Saturdays prior to the meeting week.
• Guides Program: Wes Hardaker reported 22 matches made 3 to 4 weeks prior to the meeting. Two matches were remote, and one remote participant remained unmatched. The addition of the "always willing to help" flag in the backend database has improved matching, though guides need to be reminded to keep their active working group profiles updated. Jay Daley noted that three new ICANN board members attended the newcomer training and highly praised the program's structure.

5. Any Other Business (AOB)

• Kaliya Young shared a link to research completed with the support of the Summer of Protocols (now the Protocol Institute): IETF Research Link. She noted she would share the details on the EODIR mailing list.
• Greg Wood introduced Akanksha Gupta, the new Research and Insights Analyst at the IETF LLC, who is currently analyzing community surveys and feedback.

Next Steps

• EODIR Wiki Updates: Coordinate with Karen O'Donoghue to document external program reports (such as the IIESO Connection and Chinese Youth Talent programs) on the EODIR wiki.
• GitHub Tutorial Iteration: Develop plan/materials for the next in-person session, investigate hosting a smaller, focused online interactive session, and explore creating a short YouTube tutorial as a pre-session primer.
• SISTERS Charter: The Sisters co-chairs will facilitate a discussion on the Sisters mailing list to finalize removing the charter's expiration date.
• Guides Database Maintenance: Send reminders to existing Guides to update their profile information and active working groups to improve matching accuracy.
• MeetEcho Test Scheduling: Explore adding a Saturday remote-user MeetEcho testing slot before future meetings to assist remote presenters.