Re: [Wpack] wpack - Not having a session at IETF 109

[Carsten Bormann <[e-mail]>]

On 2020-10-12, at 06:08, Larry Masinter <[e-mail]> wrote:
> 
> now perhaps you'll say these concerns are "out of scope" but perhaps there are other groups also deciding "attending" an IETF meeting is optional.

The choice between a meeting slot during IETF week and an interim isn’t always a very obvious choice.

Some meetings are preferentially held during IETF week, such as BOFs.

More generally, in IETF week, there maybe is more of an expectation of generalists (“tourists”) coming in, so this is where new, formational work should be discussed (as opposed to dotting the i's and crossing the t’s, which might as well be done in an interim).

Interims can be scheduled more dynamically, and can be very focused on a single subject — with luck, IETF week meetings happen exactly at the right time for that, too, but that is less likely.  There is less pressure to squeeze out good use of the last minute in the slot in an interim; ending an interim after 30 minutes can be OK if all the goals for the meeting were met.  Conversely, the sparseness (and scarcity) of an IETF week meeting means there is more incentive to have all your ducks in a row and actually end the meeting with some (rough) consensus established.

Right now, IETF week also has the advantage of getting to use meetecho as opposed to Webex or some random other Web conferencing scheme selected by the chairs (which sometimes means I can’t attend).

Grüße, Carsten