On 11/10/2012 10:57 AM, Mary Barnes wrote:
On Sat, Nov 10, 2012 at 10:51 AM, Melinda Shore <melinda.shore@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:
I think that we haven't done a sufficiently good job of
acculturating newer participants and that can probably make
the organization look more opaque and closed than it actually
is. Most (but not all) working groups don't have enough help
with document review, and I think that's probably the fast
path to agency within the IETF. Being a body in a chair at a
meeting is not.
[MB] Exactly! That's what I did when I first started participating in
IETF. I would review documents and comment on the mailing. I also would
volunteer to take meeting minutes as that really does force you to pay
attention to the meeting and not spend the meeting reading email or playing
solitaire. Or, volunteer to at least follow the jabber room. Those are
all extremely important for working group effectiveness. [/MB]
What Melinda and Mary are suggesting is what's worked best for me.
The only additions I'd make are:
- It's worth noting that, this being the IETF, your ideas are going
nowhere unless other people agree with and support those ideas (if
working group participants won't work on your proposal, the working
group won't adopt it!). If you contribute to other people's proposals,
either by providing text or helpful review comments, it's easier to find
people who will contribute to your proposals.
- It's worth noting that *committing to* taking minutes is also useful,
whether on a one-time basis, by e-mailing the chairs and volunteering a
week before the face-to-face meeting, or on an ongoing basis as a
working group secretary (most working groups still don't have one), is
also appreciated (not least by working group chairs who can't start a
meeting until they find a note-taker!). You still have to actually show
up and take minutes, but if they know you're coming, you get extra
points ...
Best wishes, of course. The IETF needs more effective participants.
Spencer