The Value of RFCs

In case you didn't know, a Request For Comment is some words that you want other people to give you words about. Usually so you can eventually make a decision, but even if you decide not to make the decision, at least you have an artifact explaining what you thought was a good idea and why it was eventually determined to be a bad idea. Coz it would be a real shame if a few months later you went through the whole research and discovery process again to find yourself not making the same decision for the same reasons. 😐

For starters, there's the act of writing ideas down that crystalizes them and helps you see their fractal structure a bit. It might illustrate places that need some research or arguments that aren't going to hold up to rhetorical pressure.

RFCs are an invitation to collaborate, but on the other person's terms. You put a deadline on it and say "We're making a decision on such-and-such date", but until then they can read it, comment on it, do their own research, write alternate proposals, or just ignore it.

I'm a big fan of lazy consensus decision making - if you show up, you get a vote. If you don't show up, you don't get to complain about the decision. People can have a say without grinding the whole project to a halt waiting for everyone to say "aye". RFCs are an excellent tool for lazy consensus.

And then finally you have an artifact at the end with a record of the entire messy decision making process — objections, alternatives, questions, anything resolved and unresolved. Maybe someone will pick that up later and come up with a different proposal. Or maybe it supports Chesterton's Fence for a little while longer.

Write more RFCs. I don't care where — somewhere that allows discussion. Google Docs, Notion, Github Discussion, wherever.