I can't write as eloquently as Ted, Melinda, Jon, and several others have,
but I want to add another voice for trying to move IETF 100 out of
Singapore.
This Singapore law dictates unequal treatment of some active IETF meeting
participants simply for living their normal lives. Melinda's latest email
says it very well: "if people in opposite-sex relationship can and do
bring their families, it's pretty clear what label the inability of same-sex
partnered participants to do the same would
f
all under."
It's in the hands of an authoritarian government to prosecute and maybe
imprison our colleagues for their normal lives, while others in the IETF do
not face this risk. This isn't the same as inconvenience.
It could result in imprisonment of individuals for travel plans that are
exactly the same as other attendees
.
I appreciate that the IAOC has resolved to consult experts on travel in
future,
and try to avoid this happening again, and I
thank you for this.
If there are insurmountable reasons why we must stick to Singapore for
IETF 100, please explain.
Count me as someone who thinks it is worth some cost to make the change.
Allison
On 21 May 2016 at 17:38, Peterson, Jon
<jon(_dot_)peterson(_at_)neustar(_dot_)biz> wrote:
There's a reason this discussion has come up around IETF 100, though. While
I'm sure IETF participants would be tempted to view this as just another
meeting, there's a sense in which it has to be more than that. A lot of us
have spent much of our careers working in this organization, and developing
professional and personal relationships here. IETF 100 will be a work meeting
and not a vacation opportunity, but I think attached to that work meeting
should also be a celebration, and one where the personal relationships may
matter more than usual.
When I hear that long-time participants, people that have been around longer
than me, feel like they need to sit this one out because of where it is
happening, or worry about bringing their families to a meeting where we
expect that these enduring relationships will be celebrated, that makes me
think we as a community need to arrive at a consensus about whether or not
this is okay, and if not, what we should do about it.
We do need to set better general policies for venue selection, and it sounds
like the IAOC is starting to look into that. But I think there's a further
question about this specific meeting location that we should resolve with
some urgency.
Jon Peterson
Neustar, Inc.