This may be where Randy Bush derives his "IVTF" label.
not exactly. see <http://archive.psg.com/051000.ccr-ivtf.pdf>.
Yes, there have been attempts to bridge the two camps, but I suspect the only way to really address this is a fundamental shift in the way the IETF does business, taking into account the fact that network operators and end users, by and large, are not the implementors of protocols and don't actually care how they are implemented, but rather the folks who define what the protocols need to do. I'll admit some skepticism that such a change is actually feasible.
standards bodies used to be composed of users meeting to drive vendors to common specs so the users had freedom of choice and inter-operation. the ietf has become vendors inventing new and ever more complex features to drive users to minimal margins. randy