So let me further explain my concern.
Given the issue with the release notes as described above.
Assumption 1. Emily is speaking on behalf of the MicroProfile Steering Committee to the MicroProfile GraphQL Workgroup.
No with this assumption, I would also assume that the MicroProfile Steering Committee has had a discussion and decided that they will allow the release request to continue as it (without release notes), and asked Emily to reply on their behalf.
Here the reply then from MicroProfile Steering Committee: Since this is a special case (debating between minor and service
release), I (assume MicroProfile Steering Committee here) am not going to hold you (assume MicroProfile GraphQL here) off the current release. Maybe when
you perform a follow up release, you can add the release note then?
This is how I see this reply: The MicroProfile Steering Committee are sitting on their throne, allowing the peasants to live another day. But just make sure this does not happen again.
What the reply from MicroProfile Steering Committee could have looked like: First of all, thank you for the work that you, the MicroProfile GraphQL workgroup, have put into this release. As you know, we can not do a service release for your current branch as explained to you by Kevin, and the process for minor release requires release notes. This is an exceptional case and we are going to proceed with the ballot as is, because release notes would not make sense as this is technically a service release. Going forward, when doing a minor release, remember that our process needs release notes as part of the specification.
This is how I would see this reply: The MicroProfile Steering Committee is here to help the Specification Workgroups by moving obstacles out of the way.
Assumption 2. Emily is speaking in some other capacity, maybe as a fellow MicroProfiler, to me, Phillip.
Now in this case, I would point out that it's not me arguing the case, it's the MicroProfile GraphQL Workgroup, that I merely represent. The reply then to Emily (or any other MicroProfiler) would be to please come join the workgroup and let's discuss there. Emily, or any other MicroProfiler, can not, and should not "allow us or me to continue". MicroProfiler are welcome to debate with us, or me, the usefulness of release notes that really means nothing to no-one in the future, but to "allow us or me to continue" indicating a boss : employee relationship. That, as you know, is not the case. I do not work for Emily. We both work on MicroProfile. We need to communicate better and respect each other.