> > That's an interesting assertion, but it isn't true. The decline in IETF attendance > > since the economic downturn started is across the board - large companies are > > just as sensitive to meeting costs as small companies or individuals. The whole > > idea of tiered prices is based on a massive misunderstanding of the way companies > > manage expenses. > I can assure you it isn't. Have you noticed that nobody from any company has > piped up in this thread to say "oooh, no, that would be a bad idea!". I can > assure you that for large multi-nationals the difference between paying $500 > for a delegate and $5000 is a drop in the proverbial ocean, especially when > it comes to standards tracking. Those companies who are whining about > economic downturn are unlikely to send anybody even at $500/head. Those that > value the IETF meetings will see a raised price as being an investment > regardless of price. Well, all I can say is that my corner of the world at Sun Microsystems corresponds with Brian's assessement of the situation, not yours. I started working with the IETF back in 1990. At the time I worked for a college, and funding issues were handled quite simply: I paid for everything personally. Eventually I started working for Innosoft, a small company. Innosoft paid my expenses for attending the IETF and those of several other people as well. AFAIK everyone who wanted to attend an IETF meeting was able to. I started working for Sun about two years ago. Sun manages this a lot more carefully than Innosoft ever did. And as a result not all the people I work with at Sun who have wanted to attend the IETF have been able to. If the fees were raised it would be even harder to get funding. I'm not saying this is good or bad. It is just how it is. In the case of Sun at least, the way expenses are managed isn't compatible with tiered pricing, just as Brian said. Ned