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Public side meetings at IETF meetings

21 Jun 2021

The feedback provided in post-meeting surveys frequently references the public side meetings that are held during or alongside IETF meetings. Some feedback is about how those meetings are run, while other feedback is about the level of IETF support for side meetings.

The current level of support includes a wiki page where people can list the details about their planned side meetings for each IETF meeting, including the topics, contact persons, dates and times, and other information. This wiki page is made available after the final agenda for the related IETF meeting is published, so that organizers can avoid schedule conflicts. Additionally, during in-person meetings, conference rooms may be available at the IETF meeting venue, subject to the ​​IETF Meeting Rooms Policy. Online conferencing or remote participation services are not provided by the IETF.

While the feedback is appreciated, the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) has no plans to increase the IETF support for side meetings, as we believe our current support arrangements are appropriate for the nature of these meetings.  

Organisers of side meetings that are announced publicly (e.g., listed on the wiki) should be aware of the following:

  • Such side meetings are subject to the IETF Note Well, which all attendees should be made aware of.
  • They must be open and free to attend to any IETF participant.  
  • Attendance registration is not required by the IETF, but if attendance data is collected, any collection must be optional and the organisers  are responsible for ensuring that data is managed in compliance with the IETF/IRTF/IAB Privacy Statement.
  • Recordings of side meetings can only take place with the active consent of those being recorded.

For the upcoming IETF 111 Online meeting, details about side meetings may be posted on the IETF 111 side meeting wiki page after the final agenda is published.

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