RE: Meritocracy, diversity, and leaning on the people you know

Being a scribe can be a good way for people to know who you are (the scribe).  
From reading the thread on this, when you ask someone who is new, how about 
having them sit next to someone who is more familiar with the attendees to help 
with names?   Maybe for those which English is not a first language, they could 
monitor the jabber list for questions.  They may be more comfortable with 
certain aspects of volunteering during a session or reading drafts on their own 
time.

It would be good to get the message out to newcomers that volunteering is 
important.  You help others and they help you, it is basic networking skills 
and does work in the IETF.

Thanks,
Kathleen

From: ietf-bounces(_at_)ietf(_dot_)org 
[mailto:ietf-bounces(_at_)ietf(_dot_)org] On Behalf Of Stewart Bryant
Sent: Monday, April 22, 2013 6:05 AM
To: Ted Hardie
Cc: IETF
Subject: Re: Meritocracy, diversity, and leaning on the people you know

On 19/04/2013 19:13, Ted Hardie wrote:
As a working group chair, when I stare out at a sea of faces looking for a 
scribe, the chances of my asking someone I know produces good minutes is much 
higher than my asking someone whose work I don't know.
Think about how this often works in WGs without a
secretary or regular scribe.

Chair says we need a volunteer for a scribe.

Everyone looks away and sits on their hands.

Chair says no scribe, no meeting.

Everyone looks away and hangs their head even lower melting into the floor.

Chair pleads a bit more.

Silence.

Chair asks someone they know since they are less likely to refuse.

There maybe a refusal or two by people who expect to be at the
mic a lot, or need to leave early, or are only there to catch up
with their email.

Eventually someone committed to the WG, and usually well known to the
chairs, frequently a name called by the chair, offers to scribe in order
to the meeting started.

The strong temptation is to just ask one of the well known good
scribes before the meeting in order not to waste time in a tight agenda.

Stewart