Re: [Recentattendees] [104all] Further Clarification Re: IETF 104 Preliminary Agenda

[Kyle Rose <krose@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Mon, Feb 25, 2019 at 3:45 PM Les Ginsberg (ginsberg) <ginsberg@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Kyle –

 

It seems to me that your summary has overlooked one key point. As per the announcement:

 

<snip>

Wednesday's schedule has regular sessions until 13:20, unstructured time in the afternoon, and the plenary in the evening at 17:10. This leaves almost four hours of unstructured time for attendees to reserve for side meetings.

<end snip>

 

And part of your response is:

 

<snip>

The secretariat can't address the problem of too many (or too long) WG sessions,

<end snip>

 

Presumably the alternative could have been to have another slot in the afternoon on Wednesday for WG meetings – which would have provided more flexibility in avoiding conflicts.

No contest. I should have listed that as a third issue.

Without taking sides, I think the question is whether the introduction of “unstructured time” is adding or subtracting value.

 

It really seems like we're trying to stuff too much into 5 days. (When you have 5 lbs of manure and a 4 lbs bag...) Were side meetings in the mornings, evenings, or during slots without important sessions not working? Are there groups that really are too busy to skip less important sessions in favor of collaborative side work? (E.g., there are WGs I *like* to attend, but when it conflicts with some work I *need* to do, I know where I'm going to be. These 3 weeks per year are precious, and with every session being recorded, anything I'm passively consuming gets watched later.) It's not like the entire IETF needs to collaborate in the same place at the same time, so I'm skeptical of the need for slots dedicated to unstructured work.

That said, even with the addition of Wednesday afternoon to the available slots, the crunch would still exist. The other two issues need to be addressed.

Kyle