Bill Manning wrote:
...
I enjoyed a much different experience. I was asked by a couple of
WG chairs if I would be willing to take on tasks that needed to be
done, was invited to share opinions and thoughts by folks on the
IAB... as a first time attendee. Getting involved was easy. Those
responsible encouraged new blood. Recent experience seems to indicate
a "winnowing" process is now in effect, making it harder, perhaps
much harder to allow individual contribution. If I was starting today,
I'd avoid the IETF as a venue.
If we are projecting this image, it's a problem. But given the constant
increase in attendance, I doubt if it's really the case. Certainly in my
own WG we have some very active participants who weren't at all involved when
we started, and some of the early activists have moved on.
If you think that good newcomers are not getting a fair hearing, recommend
them to the ADs as WG chairs. And mentor any newcomers that you happen to know.
Brian