I believe that the pie chart of IETF financing was shown
at the London IETF (which I missed), but the facts are
simple enough: the meetings are subsidised by industrial
sponsors, and the IETF secretariat is funded out of the
resulting surplus from the meeting fees. In addition,
the Internet Society funds the RFC Editor out of money
provided by its organizational (i.e. mainly industrial)
members.
If the meeting fee was substantially reduced, this whole
financial support system would collapse overnight.
Brian
Marshall Rose wrote:
This is something I have discussed with several people
and every one seems to agree.
The current registration fee of $575 is outrageously
high. Even though IETF claims to be an open forum with
no membership fee - you need $575*3=$1725 per year for
registration fee alone for attending IETF sessions.
This is effectively the membership fee for IETF. Sorry
- not everyone can plan ten days in advance to get
$125 reduction in fee. Just try to run a small
consulting business or work for a 20 person start up -
you would know what I mean.
...
bonney - setting aside, for now, the unstated assumption of your message that
meetings are where the real work gets done, perhaps a starting point would be
to start by asking what the money gets spent on. maybe 575 is high, maybe it
is low, maybe it is just right.
looking at a balance sheet would provide a basis for a reasoned discussion as
to whether the fees are reasonable, outrageous, or a bargain...
/mtr