Hello,
At 14:55 30-06-10, IETF Chair wrote:
I am writing to let you know about a change in the IETF meeting network.
At IETF 79 in Beijing, the IETF network will be connected to the open
Internet with absolutely no filtering. However, we have agreed with our
hosts that only IETF meeting participants will have access to the
network. Following sound engineering practices, we will deploy
admission control mechanisms as part of the IETF 78 meeting network in
Maastricht to ensure that they are working properly before they are
mission critical.
Most IETF participants probably know that the consensus of the IETF
is documented through BCPs and other Standards Track RFCs. If the
text in the RFC isn't clear, there is room for disagreement. If it
is ill-defined, someone will go and find the loophole. If the above
text was in a BCP, we could nit on the definition of IETF meeting
participants. It is clear to people unfamiliar with the IETF that
IETF meeting participants means people who have registered for the
IETF meeting.
I have been told that an IETF meeting does not have security guards
at the door to verify who has a badge to determine whether the person
is registered for the meeting. If someone walks into an IETF
meeting, the person can enjoy the cookie for free and even provide a
contribution at the mic. The person enjoys the same privileges as
people who have paid for meeting attendance fee.
I'll take the opportunity to thank Karen O'Donoghue for keeping the
IAOC minutes up to date. The IAB could do with some help in that area.
Some of you may recall that the Beijing venue contract was discussed
on this mailing list last year. It resulted in some resolutions as follows:
"Whereas the Host has assured the IAOC that 'a normal IETF
meeting can be legally held in China and that no pre-screening
of material or monitoring of session content is required or will
be done,'
Whereas the IAOC, based on the assurances of the Host and a
history of the venue successfully hosting major international
conferences that relate to our industry, believes a normal IETF
meeting can be held at the venue,
Whereas the IAOC heard all arguments made on the list, and
made its determination on the ability to hold a successful
meeting i.e. run it in a fashion as we always have, using the
tools that we always have, with a critical mass of the
traditional participants, discussing the usual topics."
The fashion in the IETF is to have an open network. There isn't any
admission control and credentials are not required to enjoy the
benefit of free and full Internet access. The IETF may run out of
cookies; it never runs out of bandwidth.
I am writing to let you know what to expect in both Maastricht and Beijing.
And it is expected that the comments on this thread will follow sound
IETF practices when it comes to mailing list discussions. :-)
Regards,
-sm
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