On Wed, 19 Nov 2008, Dave CROCKER wrote:
It's not a matter of being dragged into politics. (Or at least, it shouldn't
be.)
It's essentially an engineering task of working to maximize the ability of
people to attend IETF meetings, by looking for venues where visa processing is
the least problematic.
That does not mean "no visas" or anything else simplistic, except that border
controls do not impose undue and unpredictable barriers.
That is a one dimensional view of a multiple dimensional problem. The
object should be to maximize the ability of people to attend IETF
meetings. Ignoring the point made that contextual issues often change
between when a meeting is scheduled and when it actually happens,
predictable visa process has to share the stage with travel costs,
perception of personal safety, etc. Finding a venue with no visa issues
may also be a venue where average travel cost is doubled or more. I submit
that is not a solution. Finding a venue with no visa issues and no local
sponsor is not optimal. Etc.
I think it will be much more productive to focus on how to minimize the
visa process instability associated with travel to an already selected
venue then to try and select a venue whose current visa rules are very
tolerant.
Having seen this subject many times over the past few years, it is clear
to me that starting the process early to obtain a clear set of procedures
from the venue country and making sure all of the steps are known and in
place well in advance is the best way to mitigate the problem. I suspect
that travel industry professionals know the 3sigma processing time for
visa applications to other countries from their country. Use that
expertise to plan timelines for encouraging attendees to start the
process. Etc.
David Morris
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