--- Theodore Tso <tytso(_at_)mit(_dot_)edu> wrote:
A level playing field is one where everyone pays the
same amount of
money for the value of services received. Also,
I'll note that given
that individuals who don't attend the meetings, but
who still
participate electronically, are basically getting
the IETF Secretariat
services "for free", companies who send lots of
people are in effect
already subsidizing the smaller companies who don't
send as many
people.
my friend, I think you missed the key arguments.
If the cost of running A PARTICULAR IETF meeting is
concerned then it is true (this is what one would call
the element view of the problem). But if you take the
system view and consider the big picture, and try to
see who is benefitting most in increased revenues as a
result of pushing their proprietary standards as IETF
standards, then like many you would think that
companies that send lots of delegates are being
subsidized by single and independant developers in
more than one way. First, the corporations benefit by
getting their standards approved by show of mite and
then shipping those equipment/standards for billions
dollar of profit. Without IETF's approval they won't
be able to ship those equipment as "open systems". But
the problem is many times these so called systems are
only opened once these corporations are ready to
ship!. People can tell you who shipped which standards
when - bgp2547 vpns were ready to ship on a particular
vendor's machines before the draft was even written
and scheme described to public (ietf). without ietf's
approval for the design as rfc, they had no chance to
sell this solution.
Also, as big companies send more people, they increase
the cost of the conference for the organisers, and
hence the cost for every one, so they should bear more
cost. If you are going to have a meeting of just 25
people costs, i believe but could be wrong, don't
increase linearly if you organise a meeting for 500
people. You now need many more halls and cost baloons
up. So they are not exactly paying there fair share,
are they really?
== bonney
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