On 6/7/2022 6:11 PM, Keith Moore wrote:
On 6/7/22 16:59, Mary B wrote:
Folks can recall that we've had meetings where there's been major
anti-war protests (e.g., San Francisco 2009). I know some folks were
even afraid to leave the hotel for dinner or walk in the area of the
protests (which were just a couple blocks away from the meeting venue).
I remember those protests, saw them while walking from my hotel to the
IETF hotel, saw the police threatening the protesters, decided that
being only one block away was far too close, started walking briskly
in the other direction. The protests didn't bother me; the potential
for the police to become violent and for the resulting confrontation
to get out of hand, did.
Personally, I think IETF should stick with the official sources and
follow local rules and let individuals make their own decisions.
Because official sources are trustworthy? Yeah, right.
Keith
When I was presenting the Newcomer's briefing, one of the last slides
I'd put up was entitled "Local Cautions". It included items particular
to the area in which we were meeting. E.g. Berlin had "Avoid
photographing strangers; Moderate risk of pick pockets in tourist areas
and on U-Bahn; As always, watch your belongings". For one of the
Prague meetings, demonstrators were occasionally marching through the
main square and that was mentioned along with I believe a mention of
world class pick-pockets (that last was taken directly from a quote from
one of the meeting hosts lest someone think I'm denigrating Prague).
Conditions change, and might change rapidly before and during a
meeting. Keeping aware of them - and actually looking up from your
laptop or phone once or twice during the meeting - is helpful to
personal safety and tends to retard personal inconvenience (e.g. having
your laptop stolen). Every (make that EVERY) city we've been in (with
maybe the sole exception of Singapore?) has sketchy areas, areas in
which demonstrations occur, or areas in which not knowing the customs
(i.e., being an oblivious tourist) might be problematic. Keeping
aware, and ideally having a friendly native guide, or personal knowledge
of your locations is key to personal safety and comfort when wandering
about outside the conference venue.
Later, Mike
