Re: [Ietf108planning] Registration open for IETF 108

[Christian Huitema <[e-mail]>]

On 6/11/2020 5:39 PM, Toerless Eckert wrote:
> *rotfl*
> At the risk of getting banned from Bremen for life:
>
> a) How many hundreds of years ago was this model retired in Bremen ?
> b) How many decades is Bremen now the poorest state in Germany
>    living from subsidies by other states ?

That model, (1) pay whatever you want, (2) it will be public what you
paid, that is pretty much how operas, ballets, and museums are funded in
the USA. That's called donations from the rich burghers, and they get to
(1) claim a tax deduction and (2) get their names acknowledged in
various programs, or in some cases carved on marble stone near the
instance. But...

> Having said this: I would love for IETF to use this model and
> think i have said so on this list in before. I think it does
> work well when there is sufficient financial responsibilities
> on all sides and i am quite confident this is the case for
> IETF.

But the "rich burghers" model has a significant impact on governance. In
the case of operas and museums, that mean the board is largely made of
rich donors and and caters to them. I think a model like that would have
some interesting side effects on the governance of the IETF.

-- Christian Huitema