On Sat, 19 Sep 2009, Yaron Sheffer wrote: > Hi Ole, > > The IETF is highly ideological. Probably more so than most other SDOs. > > We care deeply about the end to end principle, about net neutrality, > and (at least in the community I'm a member of) about security. Many > of our members care a lot about IPR and its effect on open source. > > So why when it comes to free speech, which is clearly related to our > open way of making standards, we suddenly shy away from taking a > moral stance and instead resort to budgetary calculations? > > And regarding the survey: most people, myself included, would bend a > principle or two to go somewhere as interesting and exciting as > China. But you would get a radically different answer if you asked: > should the IETF hold a meeting in a country that mandates a non-free > speech commitment, or should we prefer an alternative where no such > commitments are required. > > Thanks, > Yaron >
You might get a different answer, but it's ultimately up to the individuals who answer the survey. How would you expect our large and growing contingent from China to answer that question? Should we ask about the policies of the United States, France or Germany on a long range of topics (visa, wars, death penalty...)? Where do we draw the line? Don't get me wrong, I have every respect for anyone who wants to avoid going to China for political/moral reasons, and if that collection of people is large enough to seriously impact our ability to run a successful meeting then I agree that another location would be better. [Insert philosophical comment about where most of our electronic products are produced these days, and maybe a shopping boycott would be in order too?]. I continue to believe, from personal experience, that we would have a great meeting and that none of the draconian stipulations in the contract would even come close to affecting us, but that doesn't matter if only a handful of people show up! The survey will tell us something about that, provided we get enough responses. Ole _______________________________________________ Ietf mailing list Ietf@ietf.org https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf
