Re: IETF/Interop Tokyo conflict

[Phill Gross <[e-mail]>]

> The Summer 1994 meeting of the IETF is scheduled for July 25-29, 1994.
> This conflicts with the Interop Tokyo Conference.


Scott, all,

It is regretable that the July 94 IETF meeting conflicts with the Tokyo 
Interop meeting.  This is a serious issue and it will prompt us to add 
even further checks to the system now used by the Secretariat to schedule 
meetings.

The Secretariat already goes to considerable lengths to avoid conflicts,
including maintaining a substantial list of potential conflicting
events.  Still, I agree that we should add whatever additional checks 
we can to try to avoid such conflicts in the future. 

It is important for everyone to understand that scheduling IETF
meetings is not nearly as easy as it was just a few years ago.
Overall, the constraints on the Secretariat are now considerable. 

The commitment by the host is greater, the meetings are larger, 
and the resources required by the hotel are now more substantial.  
As this community has grown, the number of potential conflicting 
events has also mushroomed.  For example, Interop now has many 
more conferences than it did just a few years ago.  

In trying to reconstruct the chronology of events leading up to the 
conflict, it actually looks to me like the two groups - Interop and 
the IETF Secretariat - were working essentially in parallel 
without a clear agreed upon channel of communication between them.
So, we at least we need to establish better lines of communication.  

I'm not interested in trying to assign blame.  I'm more interested in 
trying to figure out how we can minimize the possibility of other 
conflicts in the future.  In the spirit of moving forward, let me make 
some concrete suggestions.  I invite the community to help refine 
the additional steps we should take.  

o First, the IAB/IESG will help the Secretariat establish a list of 
"can't conflict" events.

o We will then distribute this candidate list to the IETF list
for comment.

o The Secretariat will contact the organizations on the final "can't 
conflict" list, and identify a specific point of contact with 
each of the organizations.  The Secretariat and the POC's will 
mutually agree how they will make information available to each 
other.  

o The Secretariat will use the final "can't conflict" list as firm 
guidance when scheduling IETF meetings.  I know it is not satisfying 
to hear this, but it is unlikely that, even with these additional 
steps, we will be able to eliminate *all* conflicts in the future.  
If a conflict looks to be unavoidable, the secretariat will alert the 
IAB and IESG and present a list of reasonable alternatives.  The IAB 
and IESG will help choose among this list of alternatives.

o Even in routine cases of no apparent conflict, the Secretariat 
will explicitly make the IAB and IESG aware of the candidate dates 
prior to signing a firm contract.  It will be the responsibility
of the IAB and IESG to respond in a timely fashion.  (These dates 
have normally already been available in the <0mtg-sites.txt> file 
in the IETF shadow directories and announced in the Internet Monthly 
Reports and to the IETF-Announce list.  However, an explicit message 
to the IAB and IESG, made as early as possible, will clearly also be 
helpful.)

These extra steps, together with our current push to schedule meetings
18-24 months in advance, should help minimize conflicts.


It is extremely unfortunate, but, at this time, we cannot change this 
particular conflict.  As some of you know, from private correspondence 
in early December, the Secretariat has tried to change the dates 
for the July 1994 IETF meeting, but other conflicts and the extent of 
current planning (including significant financial and contractual
obligations) made it not feasible.  

Please comment on the list of suggestions above.  I've discussed the 
above suggestions with Steve Coya, IETF Executive Director (and manager 
of the IETF Secretariat).   He is prepared to implement the above,
or other, steps to attempt to minimize conflicts in the future.

Phill Gross, IETF Chair