The meeting fee is almost the single
largest monetary expense for me, and it keeps going up.
As an individual non-attendee, I couldn't agree more. Even though the
December meeting is (literally) on my doorstep, there is no way I can
justify $750 just to attend a pair of WG meetings.
Well, the fee charged would appear to be directly correlated to the number
of people attending. That is, because the IETF must cover its costs not just
for the meetings but also for the rest of the year, a good proportion of the
cost is independent of the meetings and so must increase per capita as the
number of attendees decreases.
But wait! There is also a direct correlation between the number of people
attending and the cost. That is, the cost is a direct deterrent.
Economists out there will recognise this problem, and will understand where
the spiral is headed.
The choice and cost of location can compound the problem, and it seems to me
that one of the main objectives of setting meeting venues (both geography
and hotel) must be to increase attendance and so to increase revenue.
Adrian
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