Policy-Discussion

[Bernd Jantzen <web AT bernd-jantzen.de>]

Hi Alex,

I agree with you that policies which are binding on the community must be 
"easy
to find". In principle, it is clear to all of us, I think, that the version 
of a
policy which is binding must the be one in http://www.cacert.org/policy/ which
is linked from the front page. So, whenever a policy is voted to DRAFT or 
POLICY
status, the current version must be moved to this official location as fast as
possible. I don't really think that we need to clarify this in PoP, though I 
am
not against doing so.

The other question is (thanks, Alex, for pointing this out), from which date 
on
a new version of a policy gets binding, especially when a dispute arises close
to the change date of a policy by which it is affected.

  * The header of the policies mentions the dates of the policy-group motions
    (p...). Does this mean that the policy is binding from the date when the
    motion is posted? This cannot be, because the decision about the policy 
only
    comes later, when the motion is carried (usually about two weeks later).
  * The date, when the motion is "carried" as marked on
    http://wiki.cacert.org/PolicyDecisions ? But this date is not so
    straightforward to find for outsiders of the policy group.
  * Or is the policy only binding from date when it appears at the official
    location in http://www.cacert.org/policy/ ? This would somehow be ;
analogous
    to some state law being in effect from the moment on when it has been
    published officially, and not from the date on when it has been voted in
    parliament or when it has been signed by the president.

In view of recent questions and disputes, maybe it would now be the time to
clarify this.

E.g., what about DRP now: The current draft version should be the one voted in
p20130116, motion carried 20130131, but still the version published at
http://www.cacert.org/policy/DisputeResolutionPolicy.php is the one from
p20121213. Probably this is due to the ongoing change from .php to .html for 
all
policies, see http://bugs.cacert.org/view.php?id=1131 or
http://bugs.cacert.org/view.php?id=1130 ;.
So which version is the binding one now, today?
http://www.cacert.org/policy/DisputeResolutionPolicy.php or
http://svn.cacert.org/CAcert/Policies/DisputeResolutionPolicy.html ;?

Best regards,
Bernd


Alex Robertson, 25.02.2013 00:46:
> I specified "easy to find" rather than requiring a direct link - there has
> been a lot of arguments about how valid the changes published by this group
> are as they stand at the moment - they certainly mark the intent, but at
> what point do they actually become policy - hence I perceive a need for an
> easy to find link (direct or otherwise!) also possibly referencing the
> decisions made here as well as the formal policy documents. The method this
> forum uses to record decisions is not referenced  anywhere as a formal point
> of change!
>
> Alex
>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Bernd Jantzen 
>> [mailto:web AT bernd-jantzen.de]
>> Sent: 24 February 2013 18:58
>> To: 
>> cacert-policy AT lists.cacert.org
>> Subject: Re: PoP: easy linking - frontpage - main website ? ( RE: Vote on
>> p20130223 - Several minor changes to PoP to vote to DRAFT (was: improving
>> p20100306 - minor changes to PoP)=
>>
>> I would even say that already "published on the CAcert website" implies
> that
>> there is a (direct or indirect) link from the front page to the document,
>> otherwise it could not be called "published".
>>
>> Also I would not specify that there must be a (direct) link from the front
> page;
>> this is not even realized now: There is a link "policies" which leads to a
> list of
>> links to the policies. But there is no direct link.
>>
>> Best regards,
>> Bernd
>>
>>
[...]
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Alex Robertson 
>> [mailto:alex-uk AT cacert.org]
>> Sent: Sunday, February 24, 2013 12:26 AM
>> To: 
>> cacert-policy AT lists.cacert.org
>> Subject: RE: Vote on p20130223 - Several minor changes to PoP to vote to
>> DRAFT (was: improving p20100306 - minor changes to PoP)
>>
>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: 
>>>> ulrich AT cacert.org
>>>>  
>>>> [mailto:ulrich AT cacert.org]
>>>>     adding:
>>>>      ............................................................
>>>>      5.4 POLICY documents are published on the CAcert website
>>>>          in plain HTML. Change control must be in place.
>>>>      ............................................................
>>> Perhaps a slight change here ....
>>>
>>>>      5.4 POLICY documents are published on the CAcert website
>>>>          in plain HTML with an easy to find link from the front page of
>>>>         the main website. Change control must be in place.
>>> Regards
>>>
>>> Alex
>>>