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Process Document Consolidation This document defines a stand-in for the IETF Chair, called the Acting IETF Chair, in case the IETF Chair becomes indisposed. About This Document The latest revision of this draft can be found at . Status information for this document may be found at . Discussion of this document takes place on the procon Working Group mailing list (), which is archived at . Subscribe at . Source for this draft and an issue tracker can be found at .

Introduction The role of the IETF Chair is a single point of failure for the organization, with no defined processes for allowing others to quickly and/or temporarily take over aspects of the role if the IETF Chair becomes partially or fully unable to serve. (The defined process is that for "mid-term vacancies" per , which can take up to six weeks to complete and only allows for the permanent replacement of the IETF Chair by another individual.)

Acting IETF Chair This section describes who may serve as Acting IETF Chair if the IETF Chair becomes indisposed.

Background As described in , the IETF Chair role is at the moment a single point of failure for the organization. If the IETF Chair becomes indisposed, a recall petition followed by executing a "mid-term vacancy" replacement would need to be executed to name a new IETF Chair. This process will likely take several weeks at best, during which time there is no defined Acting IETF Chair.

Selection of the Acting IETF Chair In case the IETF Chair becomes indisposed, or the position becomes vacant through resignation, recall or otherwise, the IESG selects and announces another Area Director who is willing to serve as Acting IETF Chair, who then immediately assumes the role of the IETF Chair. The IETF Chair declares when they become indisposed and when they are available again. If the IETF Chair is unable or unwilling to do so, or if there is disagreement, the IESG decides. This does not affect the recall process in . The Acting IETF Chair serves until the NomCom appoints a new IETF Chair or the IETF Chair is available again. The ability to serve as Acting IETF Chair is not a criterion for the NomCom when selecting Area Directors. The Acting IETF Chair holds the full role of the IETF Chair, including the ability to delegate , and this section applies to them as it does to the IETF Chair. Delegations made by the IETF Chair remain in force unless the Acting IETF Chair changes them. If the IETF Chair's absence is expected to be short, the Acting IETF Chair should choose to delay controversial decisions until the IETF Chair is available again, while allowing other business to proceed.

Security Considerations The usual security considerations do not apply to this document.

IANA Considerations This document has no IANA actions.

Acknowledgments These individuals suggested improvements to this document:

• Alvaro Retana
• Brian Carpenter
• Eric Rescorla
• Jari Arkko
• Joel Halpern
• Mike Bishop
• Mirja Kühlewind
• Rob Sayre
• Robert Sparks
• Ted Lemon

References Normative References The process by which the members of the IAB and IESG, some Trustees of the IETF Trust, and some Directors of the IETF Administration LLC (IETF LLC) are selected, confirmed, and recalled is specified in this document. This document is based on RFC 7437. Only those updates required to reflect the changes introduced by IETF Administrative Support Activity (IASA) 2.0 have been included. Any other changes will be addressed in future documents. This document obsoletes RFC 7437 and RFC 8318. Informative References Mozilla This document affirms that the IETF Chair may delegate some of their responsibilities to other Area Directors, and updates several existing RFCs to enable that. All RFCs are required to have a Security Considerations section. Historically, such sections have been relatively weak. This document provides guidelines to RFC authors on how to write a good Security Considerations section. This document specifies an Internet Best Current Practices for the Internet Community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements.

Changes since draft-eggert-procon-chair-standin-00

• Rename "stand-in" to "Acting IETF Chair".
• Have the IESG select a willing Area Director as Acting IETF Chair, instead of the IETF Chair designating one in advance.
• Define who decides that the IETF Chair is indisposed or available again.
• Cover a vacant IETF Chair position.
• Give the Acting IETF Chair the full role of the IETF Chair, including the ability to delegate.
• State that the ability to serve as Acting IETF Chair is not a NomCom criterion for selecting Area Directors.
• Soften the language and add guidance for short absences.
• Editorial fixes.