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Re: Less Corporate Diversity

2013-03-20 16:37:53
On Wed, Mar 20, 2013 at 03:18:24PM -0400, Eric Burger wrote:
How much is the concentration of corporate participation in the IETF a
result of market forces, like consolidation and bankruptcy, as opposed to
nefarious forces, like a company hiring all of the I* leadership? We have
mechanisms to deal with the latter, but there is not much we can do about
the former.

Having started in the IETF at a much smaller vendor, it's less a nefarious
thing than it is a money thing.

When you're talking about participation at the conferences, the cost of
flying someone to the venue, paying for the conference fee and covering
hotel can be a big burden for smaller companies.  They then have to pick and
choose which groups it makes sense to get a human to attend.

Even on-the-list participation can be a financial burden.  Someone has to
spend a chunk of their time doing standards work instead of other things
like code.

I* leadership is even messier.  IETF is effectively asking for half or more
of the time of those people.  They are effectively being given a form of
patronage to do IETF work.

-- Jeff