--On Sunday, May 26, 2013 15:46 -0400 Ray Pelletier
<rpelletier(_at_)isoc(_dot_)org> wrote:
The venues are in Buenos Aires. They meet our requirements
for the meeting space, networking, nearby restaurants and
bars, hotel room rates in the mid $200 dollar range, nearby
alternate hotels at a broad range of prices, nice area in the
city, safe, direct international flights, and accessible visas.
Ray,
I don't know the venues you are looking at, nor what the site
visit showed, nor what has happened in the decade or so since
I've attended a meeting in Buenos Aires. But, based on my
outdated experience and the frequent rage in the IETF community
if their food requirements cannot be met, I'd encourage/caution
you to pay very careful attention to the food situation in your
considerations. Argentina, especially the capital city, has
been one of the reasons I've avoided shifting to a complete
vegetarian (or at least non-meat) diet -- I've found there that
the alternatives were often either eating large quantities of
beef or both starving and insulting one's hosts. The pressures
would presumably be less in an IETF context, but, again at least
in my experience, John Levine's "steak or pizza" summary for the
vast majority of eating places is pretty close to the mark, with
meat on most of the pizzas.
Note that isn't "don't go", just "watch out for this and be
ready for a lot of unpleasant pushback if the issues are
perceived of as unmanaged and/or indifferent or discriminatory
toward some groups".
best,
john