Post-IETF-107 Recommended Virtual Interim Schedule

[Alissa Cooper <[e-mail]>]

Dear chairs,

The IESG has put together a recommended virtual interim schedule in the absence of an in-person IETF 107: <https://trac.ietf.org/trac/wgchairs/raw-attachment/wiki/WikiStart/April2020-RecommendedSchedule.pdf>. We are recommending this schedule as a starting point. Each time slot in the original in-person meeting schedule corresponds to one day in this schedule (in UTC). As the original schedule avoided WG and RG conflicts to the maximum extent possible, working groups and research groups can be reasonably sure that most participants will not have a conflict with another IETF interim meeting on the same day. We have avoided Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and some common bank holidays.

Groups are free to choose a time within their recommended day that works for most participants in the group, with the knowledge that in some time zones it may be the day before or the day after. We realize that the day recommended for your group may not work for your group. Working groups are free to request a session on a different day than their recommended day or to request additional ones.

You may request a virtual interim meeting using the form at <https://datatracker.ietf.org/meeting/interim/request>. 

Because we are anticipating an increased volume of virtual interims, AD (or IRTF chair) approval will be required to schedule a virtual interim meeting through the beginning of IETF 108 -- even if requested for the day recommended below. We will be assessing conflicts as well as the overall spread of interim meetings and how that spread may affect participants in different time zones. We may ask you to select a different time based on these factors.

If you do not choose to use your recommended day, we recommend polling your group to determine suitable times for a meeting. If your group holds interims regularly, please be cognizant of which time zones are disadvantaged by your scheduling choices and try to avoid consistently scheduling virtual interims that disadvantage the same set of participants. The meeting planner located at <https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html> may be a useful tool.

If you are going to poll your group to find a suitable virtual interim slot, please review the existing schedule of upcoming virtual interim meetings <https://datatracker.ietf.org/meeting/upcoming>. Review your group's most recent list of conflicts <https://datatracker.ietf.org/meeting/requests>. Please do not request a virtual interim slot that conflicts with an already-scheduled interim for a different group that is either (a) within the same IETF area as your group, or (b) on your conflicts list.

Finally, we recommend reviewing the IESG guidance on interim meetings which provides further details: <https://www.ietf.org/about/groups/iesg/statements/interim-meetings-guidance-2016-01-16/>

When working group chairs schedule a date and time for the meeting, it will automatically update the calendar in datatracker: <https://datatracker.ietf.org/meeting/upcoming>.

Thanks,
Alissa Cooper on behalf of the IESG