I can't write as eloquently as Ted, Melinda, Jon, and several others have, but I want to add another voice for trying to move IETF 100 out of Singapore.
This Singapore law dictates unequal treatment of some active IETF meeting participants simply for living their normal lives. Melinda's latest email says it very well: "if people in opposite-sex relationship can and do bring their families, it's pretty clear what label the inability of same-sex partnered participants to do the same would
f
all under." It's in the hands of an authoritarian government to prosecute and maybe imprison our colleagues for their normal lives, while others in the IETF do not face this risk. This isn't the same as inconvenience.
It could result in imprisonment of individuals for travel plans that are exactly the same as other attendees.
I appreciate that the IAOC has resolved to consult experts on travel in future, and try to avoid this happening again, and I
thank you for this. If there are insurmountable reasons why we must stick to Singapore for IETF 100, please explain.
Count me as someone who thinks it is worth some cost to make the change.
Allison
On 21 May 2016 at 17:38, Peterson, Jon <jon.peterson@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
There's a reason this discussion has come up around IETF 100, though. While I'm sure IETF participants would be tempted to view this as just another meeting, there's a sense in which it has to be more than that. A lot of us have spent much of our careers working in this organization, and developing professional and personal relationships here. IETF 100 will be a work meeting and not a vacation opportunity, but I think attached to that work meeting should also be a celebration, and one where the personal relationships may matter more than usual.When I hear that long-time participants, people that have been around longer than me, feel like they need to sit this one out because of where it is happening, or worry about bringing their families to a meeting where we expect that these enduring relationships will be celebrated, that makes me think we as a community need to arrive at a consensus about whether or not this is okay, and if not, what we should do about it.We do need to set better general policies for venue selection, and it sounds like the IAOC is starting to look into that. But I think there's a further question about this specific meeting location that we should resolve with some urgency.Jon PetersonNeustar, Inc.