Comment by yardstick
4 days ago
Within the IETF it’s not 100%.
See section 3.3 of one of their RFCs for proof.
https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2418.html#section-3.3
“ Working groups make decisions through a "rough consensus" process. IETF consensus does not require that all participants agree although this is, of course, preferred. In general, the dominant view of the working group shall prevail. (However, it must be noted that "dominance" is not to be determined on the basis of volume or persistence, but rather a more general sense of agreement.) Consensus can be determined by a show of hands, humming, or any other means on which the WG agrees (by rough consensus, of course). Note that 51% of the working group does not qualify as "rough consensus" and 99% is better than rough. It is up to the Chair to determine if rough consensus has been reached.”
That's "rough consensus" as opposed to "consensus".
And that’s what the IETF uses but djb doesn’t like.
It's literally the ethos of the IETF going back to (at least) the late 1980s, when this was the primary contrast between IETF standards process vs. the more staid and rigorous OSI process. It's not usefully up for debate.
He doesn't like it at least in part for lacking a concrete definition. Attempting to pin down what it means or ought to mean is therefore useful.