The most valuable part of IETF meeting is and has always been the hall conversations and side meetings Thanks, Donald ============================= Donald E. Eastlake 3rd +1-508-333-2270 (cell) 155 Beaver Street, Milford, MA 01757 USA d3e3e3@xxxxxxxxx On Tue, Jul 30, 2013 at 12:10 PM, Michael Richardson <mcr+ietf@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > 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. > > -- > ] Never tell me the odds! | ipv6 mesh networks [ > ] Michael Richardson, Sandelman Software Works | network architect [ > ] mcr@xxxxxxxxxxxx http://www.sandelman.ca/ | ruby on rails [ > > > > > -- > Michael Richardson <mcr+IETF@xxxxxxxxxxxx>, Sandelman Software Works > >