That we are not reflects our inability to retain, not our inability to attract
(assuming that we are not completely refreshing the IETF attendance every
three
or four years). Should not be rocket science to follow up with some newcomers
to
find out why they only attend once and never come back.
Hi,
I am one of those non-returning newcomers, so maybe I can reply with
my own motivations. I came to Maastricht, few meetings ago because I
had some specific interest (and, I admit, I was a bit curios of seeing
a meeting live, but that was not the main motivation... Just the icing
on the cake).
I did not return (yet, I think I'll do) because I work in the
University, so scientific conferences are more natural an environment
for me. Also, depending on the location, a 1-week participation is
quite expensive (not more expensive than your average conference, but
expensive nevertheless) and since funding are pretty scarce, coming to
a meeting (with my regret) is something that I'll do when I'll have
some very strong motivation.
Add to this that you can do most of interaction via e-mail and can
remotely participate via streaming + jabber and you can understand
that it is unlikely to have the strict necessity of being "on place."
So, to summarize
Q: Why did you come?
A: Because I had a very specific interest
Q: Why did you not return?
A: Because the necessity of being at meeting does not compensate for
the cost. Also I work at University, so I participate more to
scientific conference than to engineering meetings. (Also, teaching
duties do not help)
Q: Do you plan to return?
A: Yes, I do, maybe fairly soon, but I have no precise plan yet.
Riccardo