Keith Moore <moore@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> But earlier today I realized that the problem isn't just the cost of attending
> meetings - it's the value that we get in return for those meetings. I've been
> taking notes about how ineffectively we use our meeting time. Most of what
> I've observed won't surprise anybody, but here's a summary:
Thanks for this.
> Rooms are set up not to facilitate discussion, but to discourage it. The
> lights are dim, the chairs are facing forward rather than other participants,
> the projector screen (not the person facilitating a discussion, even if someone
> is trying to facilitate a discussion) is the center of attention. The chairs
> are set so close together and with so few aisles that it's hard for most of the
> attendees to get to the mics. The "microphone discipline" which was intended
> to facilitate remote participation ends up making discussion more difficult for
> everybody who has paid to be on site.
I think that these physical things are something that we can do some
experiments about.
> Well, please excuse my candor, but f*ck habit. We can't be effective
> engineers if we let bad habits continue to dictate how we work.
I agree.
> For 80% of most WG meetings, the lights should be bright, the participants
> should face each other. If there's a person facilitating the discussion that
> person should be the center of attention. If we're going to use microphones,
> the rooms should be set up to allow everyone in the room to have easy access to
> them. We should have several microphones, again facing each other, so that
> several people can have a conversation without everyone having to queue up.
Can we please try this in Vancouver?
This would work especially well for BOFs.
Maybe we can start there.
Chairs will need training as *facilitators*
> And maybe, in addition, we need to provide better places for people to hang out
> and work while trying to get an opportunity to interact with specific people.
> The terminal rooms are generally placed in out-of-the-way corners, but the most
> effective places to interact with people are in the hallways.
I agree.
--
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] Michael Richardson, Sandelman Software Works | network architect [
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Michael Richardson <mcr+IETF@xxxxxxxxxxxx>, Sandelman Software Works
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