Re: [101attendees] IETF 101 social event

[IETF Chair <[e-mail]>]

I realized today that I had meant to respond to this thread last Wednesday but failed to do so.

I appreciate that some people were frustrated by the queues for food at the social event. IETF social events are organized and paid for by our corporate sponsors. Having the social event is an additional benefit to the community that sponsors can choose to provide. They all go to great lengths to ensure that IETF attendees have an enjoyable experience. These events are not easy to plan and involve a new and different set of constraints each time because the meeting locations, available venues, and sponsors change at each meeting. If sponsors generally feel that their efforts are not appreciated, we run the risk of them choosing not to put on social events in the future. So I would ask that people take all of this into consideration when complaining about the social event on the list in the future. The sponsors and the secretariat were aware of the queues and the secretariat will be reviewing the meeting host manual to ensure that the guidance provided there addresses this issue.

Thanks,
Alissa Cooper
IETF Chair