[rpd] Policy supremacy

[Nia Petronella]

Dear Ben,

We have spent days debating the wrong question.

A writing tool is not a participant. The participant is the person who
chooses the position, reviews the text, submits it, and accepts
responsibility for it. Spell-check, translation, templates, editors, and AI
do not acquire agency merely because they help produce complete sentences.

You are entitled to challenge an argument. You are not entitled to turn
another person’s private drafting process into an identity test or a
condition for participation. That converts familiarity into authority and
an open mailing list into a permission system.

If there is evidence of impersonation, automated flooding, or misconduct,
submit it to the co-chairs. If several messages raise the same concern, the
co-chairs may consolidate the concern. Neither situation justifies
interrogating unfamiliar participants or treating polished language as
proof of deception.

Consensus should be assessed through distinct arguments and evidence, not
through amateur authorship investigations. A community may discuss and
advise. It does not acquire a mandate to decide who counts as a genuine
human contributor.

My tools are my private choice. My responsibility for what I submit is
public. I will not seek permission for either.

Regards,
Nonhlanhla
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