-----Original Message----- From: ietf <ietf-bounces@xxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Brian E Carpenter <snip> The singularity of the IETF is that there is no "representation" since all participants contribute as individuals. This is something that I guarantee we have been trying to convey to government and international officials since 1994 to my personal knowledge and probably longer. While I was IAB chair (1995-2000) I spent quite a lot of time doing that, since liaisons are an IAB responsibility. Such officials have genuine difficulty in understanding this concept, until they actually attend a few meetings. <snip> The issue is, when government representative participate to IETF (or a RIR, or ICANN, or a NOG), they do so in their official capacity, thus representing to some extent their organisation. They (we) do understand the concept, however it is impossible to attend without this sort of "official" hat. So on one hand there is Joe-as-himself, and on the other hand there in Alice-as-a-whole-government-rep. How do we make this work better for everyone's benefit in IETF? Kind regards, Sara Marcolla Europol - O3 European Cyber Crime Centre (EC3) www.europol.europa.eu ******************* DISCLAIMER : This message is sent in confidence and is only intended for the named recipient. If you receive this message by mistake, you may not use, copy, distribute or forward this message, or any part of its contents or rely upon the information contained in it. Please notify the sender immediately by e-mail and delete the relevant e-mails from any computer. This message does not constitute a commitment by Europol unless otherwise indicated. *******************
