[Wpack] Fwd: IAB Workshop Call for Papers: Exploring Synergy between Content Aggregation and the Publisher Ecosystem

[Dan York <[e-mail]>]

Given that this IAB workshop is about web packaging, if people on this list have not seen this call for papers, the deadline to submit a position paper is June 3rd.


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From: IAB Executive Administrative Manager <[e-mail]<mailto:[e-mail]>>
Subject: IAB Workshop Call for Papers: Exploring Synergy between Content Aggregation and the Publisher Ecosystem
Date: May 2, 2019 at 5:54:49 PM EDT
To: "IETF Announcement List" <[e-mail]<mailto:[e-mail]>>
Cc: [e-mail]<mailto:[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]<mailto:[e-mail]>

ESCAPE Workshop

Exploring Synergy between Content Aggregation and the Publisher
Ecosystem

An Internet Architecture Board workshop

In recent years, a number of proprietary formats have been defined to
enable aggregators of news and other articles to republish Web
resources; for example, Google’s AMP <https://amp.dev/>, Facebook’s
Instant Articles <https://instantarticles.fb.com/>, Baidu’s MIP
<https://github.com/mipengine/mip>, and Apple’s News Format
<https://developer.apple.com/news-publisher/>.

These formats enable various improvements in end-user perceived
performance, through techniques like pre-fetching content from the
distributing site. Their deployment has raised a number of significant
problems <https://w3ctag.github.io/distributed-content/>. Web Packaging
<https://github.com/WICG/webpackage> is one proposal to address these
issues, and may be suitable for other use-cases as well.

Packaging allows content to be presented to users as if it were obtained
from the original site, no matter where it was actually fetched from.
For example, a peer-to-peer network could exchange signed packages, or a
Web search engine could serve them when a user clicks on a search
result.

In one reading, this is a form of modularization: it separates content
serving from guarantees of authenticity and integrity. In theory, this
could support new content distribution mechanisms, as authors and
publishers could delegate their hosting to others while retaining some
degree of control, due to their signing authority. It could also serve
as a robust defence against censorship by offering alternative
publication mechanisms.

However, significant market power concentration among search engines and
social networks creates a concern that this mechanism might allow them
to pressure publishers to delegate technical authority, reinforcing
consolidation. Today’s republishing platforms have exposed several risks
of consolidation: opaque effects on content discovery (including search
ranking), monetizations that advantage the aggregator, and interactivity
(commenting/sharing) that reinforce the reader’s relationship with the
aggregator.

These outcomes -- both positive and negative -- could have wide-ranging
effects on the Web and Internet. Assessing them is outside the core
competencies of technical standards bodies on their own; so, we are
holding this workshop to convene potentially affected parties to discuss
the impact of this proposal.

The scope of this workshop includes:

* Understanding potential changes to balance of power on the Internet
 (e.g., consolidation, decentralisation)
* The impact of Web Packaging on the online publishing ecosystem (e.g.,
 news sites, other publications, both advertising-driven and not) -
 both positive and negative
* Examination of the underlying requirements driving these proposals
* Other possible approaches to meeting those requirements
* Feedback and discussion of the Web Packaging proposal in specific

Note that the primary audience is at the business/policy level, not
technical.

Logistics

* Submissions Due: 3 June 2019
* Invitations Issued by: 10 June 2019
* Workshop Date: 18-19 July 2019 (ending approximately 1pm on Friday)
* Workshop Location: Herndon, Virginia USA
* Program Committee Chair: Mark Nottingham (Internet Architecture Board,
 Fastly)
* Program Committee Members: Martin Thomson (Internet Architecture
 Board, Mozilla), Robin Berjon (The New York Times), David Strauss
 (Pantheon, Drupal), Joseph Lorenzo Hall (Center for Democracy &
 Technology)
* Send Submissions to: [e-mail]<mailto:[e-mail]>

Position papers from academia, industry and others that focus on the
broader picture and that warrant the kind of extended discussion that a
1.5-day workshop offers are the most welcome. Papers that reflect
experience based on running code and deployed services are also very
welcome. Papers that are proposals for point-solutions are less useful
in this context, and can simply be submitted as Internet-Drafts and
discussed on relevant IETF or W3C lists.

The workshop will be by invitation only. Those wishing to attend should
submit a position paper to the address above; this may take the form of
an Internet-Draft.

All inputs submitted and considered relevant will be published on the
workshop web page. The organisers will decide whom to invite based on
the submissions received. Sessions will be organized according to
content, and not every accepted submission or invited attendee will have
an opportunity to present as the intent is to foster discussion and not
simply to have a sequence of presentations.

Position papers from those unable to attend in person are encouraged. A
workshop report will be published afterwards.