On Wednesday, 2 July 2025 17:18:36 CEST Joe Abley wrote: > On 2 Jul 2025, at 16:02, Michael De Roover <ietf@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > I like this idea of changing the schedule, more so than I like the idea of > > changing the location. Earlier in the conversation, there were mentions of > > this schedule being a result of COVID-related measures. Since the pandemic > > is now by and large over (turned endemic just like all the other ones, > > easy to deal with), then the return to pre-pandemic scheduling might be > > the better thing to do here. > > This is not a particularly good hook to hang a reply to myself on, but bear > with me. Hi Joe, I appreciate the feedback! Actually I really like the way you've written it, personal stories that people can relate to is a conversational style I like a lot. > When I first moved from the UK to Canada in 1995 I was quite frightened by > the prospect of what negative outside temperatures might entail. Turns out > there was no immediate danger to life and limb. Coats exist, as do gloves > and hats. Buildings are heated. Exposure to snow is often not fatal. > > When I went to my first APRICOT meeting in Singapore some time after that, I > remember waking up in the morning and opening the window because the hotel > room was stuffy. This made the room a lot worse, but miraculously I > surivived. Makes sense yeah, and I do like when people push their own boundaries like that. Especially in our younger years, it's not like the body can't handle it either. When I was in Portugal earlier too, it was hot yes, but it was but one consideration among many. And I was there to do a job, so it's not like I really had much of a choice anyway. Prep could've been better, but otherwise it was well worth the challenge. > Personally, while I enjoy travel for its own sake, if I want to experience a > place I will go there when there is no IETF meeting happening. IETF week is > a terrible time to experience what a city has to offer if you're > participating in the meeting. > > When I go to an IETF meeting, I am there to do some work and to connect with > people in-person who otherwise are harder to maintain working relationships > with. If I have to take an occasional walk in the heat or the snow as part > of that, I don't see it as a great hardship. It's far more important that > facilities and adjacent meeting places like restaurants and corridors are > available. I have found this perfectly possible (for example) in Toronto in > February and in (another example) Bangkok in, well, any month of the year. > I don't think the outside temperature is actually something most IETF > participants should need to worry about. > > When it comes to temperature I have far greater sympathy for people who find > themselves having to wear coats in meeting rooms because the air > conditioning is aggressively maintaining a room temperature of 18C. Inside > conditions are more important than what the weather app says is happening > today. If it's too hot or cold outside, well, don't go out. Never been to one myself admittedly (only FOSDEM in Brussels so far), but yeah that makes sense. There seems to be quite a bit of IETF-specific prep involved, and during the meeting I would also consider that to be the primary thing to do. The surrounding city itself, as beautiful as it is, is not primarily what I would be there for. Indoor with air conditioning meanwhile.. like you mention, probably not a cause of concern. And for the 10 minutes or such to go from A to B, probably not an issue either. That said though, not having the ability / choice to go out during certain daytime hours would be a bit of a shame I think. In addition, I have received quite a bit of private feedback, of people to whom the temperature was indeed a deterrent like mine. No names or whether they intend to go or not, those were private for a reason. There are two particular mails that are in my mind, for whom I think (haven't replied to them yet but intend to, BCC for now), moving the schedule might make them / us more inclined to visit the event. So if that is something that's in the cards, I would like us to explore it further. -- Met vriendelijke groet, Michael De Roover Mail: ietf@xxxxxxxxxxxx Web: michael.de.roover.eu.org
