Eric Gray> The discussion is essentially inane I think this is an excellent observation. It suggests to me though that perhaps the best way to get more funding for the IETF is to impose a surcharge on inane messages to the ietf mailing list. The surcharge can be based on the degree of inanity of the message.
I suggest the following schedule of charges: - $10 for a generic message whining about US customs/immigration processes - $10 for a clueless message suggesting a reorganization of the IETF or a change of the fee structure (fortunately not to be imposed retroactively) - $10 for a message about the value or lack thereof of Ascii art - $10 for a message about the format of RFCs - $15 for a message whining about US customs/immigration processes, if the whine is backed up only by anecdotes - $100 for a message suggesting that US customs/immigration processes are unfair to white men from western europe. I'd raise the fee to $500 if sent by someone with an obvious chip on his shoulder. - $100 for a message suggesting that IETF meetings be held in peculiar locations - $100 for a message suggesting that the cookies at IETF meetings should be rationed - $100 for a message stating that the list is full of inane messages (not to be imposed retroactively) - $200 for a message saying that NAT is evil - $200 for a message whining about the IETF's lack of sufficient emphasis on IPv6 - $500 for a message whining about the fact that IETF meetings do not routinely occur in one's home town. I would raise the fee to $1,000 if Barcelona is mentioned. - $500 for a message saying that the job of the IETF is to prevent the marketplace from making technology choices - $1000 for a message stating that the poster knows how to solve the spam problem once and for all. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list of inane categories of message, it's just a start. If, during the course of a week, a single poster sends multiple inane messages which say exactly the same thing, I would double the fee for each subsequent message. Putting such a schedule of charges into place would either eliminate the IETF's budget problems or else make its mailing list a lot more useful. _______________________________________________ Ietf mailing list Ietf@ietf.org https://www1.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf
