On 4/20/16 5:07 PM, Adam Roach wrote:
> On 4/20/16 08:26, thomas nadeau wrote:
>>
>>>> On Apr 20, 2016, at 6:48 AM, Harald Alvestrand <harald@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>>> wrote:
>>>> If we don't see such a cohort, we need to dig deeper.
>>> Or perhaps wonder why we should concern ourselves with this at all?
>>> Because it's their Internet, too.
>>I'm not sure that's actually responsive. The internet "belongs
>>to" uncountable numbers of people who will never, ever participate
>>in making protocol standards.
>>If people are not participating in mailing lists, reviewing
>>documents, and so on, it's not at all clear to me why meeting
>>in their corner of the world is going to change anything.
>>Historically it does not seem to have been very effective.
>>I do think that what Nalini is doing (putting together
>>document review teams/study groups for new participants)
>>seems likely to be more effective than changing meeting
>>venues, and I'm very curious to see how that works out.
Melinda, thank you for your support. It means a lot to me.
Having said that, with this initiative (as with any new project!), there will be false starts, miscommunication, scalability issues, etc. But, (obviously) I think this is, at least, one of the right things to do and we will figure it out.
As a status: we have 43 people signed up so far for Internet Draft review teams and 3 teams starting (Spanish: DNSOP, Spanish: v6ops/ 6man / sunset4, and English: 6lo, 6tisch).
I have heard from the Indian community that they will be publicizing in India, so in the next couple of weeks hope to get quite a few more in that region.
So, speaking of that - if this initiative is successful, it is because it is building on the efforts of the people in the various geographic regions. As I have said before - standing on the shoulders of giants. A huge effort has been and continues to be made in a number of geographic areas to increase awareness of the IETF and increase participation.
The way I have gotten people to sign up for our initiative is by talking to the people leading the remote hubs and posting to their email lists. In local language, if necessary. Including the delightful Boston hub! (BTW, anyone interested in starting a SF Bay Area / Silicon Valley Hub, please contact me unicast. Why not us?)
I am also hearing from the Chinese community that they are exploring remote hubs. Do not know if any of them are ready to comment.
But, IMHO, I think a fruitful discussion might be: where do we see all this going? That is, what do we think the IETF will look like in 3 years, 5 years, 10 years? The reason I say this is because I believe that informs our thinking. Any business plans for (at least) 3 - 5 years down the road, why don't we at the IETF talk about it?
I, personally, think that the winds are shifting. The world is getting smaller and smaller. In particular, for the kinds of people who are "crazy" enough to be finding their energy in writing new protocols and living and breathing networks. These people come from all corners of the globe and this will become only more so.
I also, personally, am very much for face-to-face. We cannot ignore that we are, after all, human.
Having an IETF in different parts of the world, to me, also validates the efforts of the local community who has worked so hard to get contributors.
I live in California, it is a state where there is no majority ethnic or social group. IMHO, that is where the IETF is going.
Nalini