On Oct 2, 2009, at 12:27 PM, John C Klensin wrote:
... Perhaps the latter suggests a way for the IAOC to think about this. Assume that, however unlikely it is, the meeting were called off mid-way and that every IETF participant who attended sued the IASA to recover the costs of leaving China earlier than expected, the prorata costs of unexpectedly attending only part of a meeting, and possibly the value of lost time. Suppose the hotel also tried to recover lost revenue and lost reputation costs as some have suggested in this discussion might be possible. Now consider going out and buying insurance against those risks. There are insurance companies who are happy to do that sort of risk assessment and quote prices (and do it professionally, as if their bottom line depends on it, which it does) and with great skill. If the cost of such insurance is a reasonable add-on to the other costs of holding a meeting in Beijing (or can be passed on to the host), then we go ahead with the meeting. If not, we make another plan.
That's the best suggestion for managing the risk side of this equation that I've heard. It's brilliant! Great thinking, John!
-- Dean _______________________________________________ Ietf@xxxxxxxx https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf