On 11/11/2012 18:06, Mikael Abrahamsson wrote: ... > So elaborating on what the benefit of being there physically would > probably help. Remote participation both during and between meetings is > crucial for a lot of people I would imagine (it is for me anyway, it's > my only chance to participate). Getting a low bar for entry into the > discussions is what I feel is the biggest advantage of the IETF model, > some WGs really work well in this aspect. For WGs that do *not* have a low bar for entry, a detailed complaint to the chairs and the AD would be very appropriate (and probably more effective than a rant on this list). There's no doubt that personal attendance is the best way to get a full understanding of how the IETF works, but remote participation is supposed to work. BTW, I originated the http://www.ietf.org/newcomers.html page and if any newcomers have comments on the text please send them to me off-list. Brian