Technical Summary
New work is typically brought to the IETF by a group of interested
individuals. IETF meetings are a convenient place for such groups to
gather informally to discuss and develop their ideas. Such side
meetings, which are not reflected in the IETF meeting agenda and have
no official status, are often half-jokingly referred to as "Bar BOF"
sessions, to acknowledge that some of them may eventually lead to a
proposal for an official IETF BOF ("birds of a feather" session) on a
given topic.
During recent IETF meetings, many such "Bar BOF" gatherings have been
organized and moderated in ways that made them increasingly
indistinguishable from official IETF BOFs or sometimes even IETF
working group meetings.
This document argues that this recent trend is not helpful in reaching
the ultimate goal of many of these gatherings, i.e., to efficiently
discuss and develop ideas for new IETF work. It encourages the
organizers to consider the benefits of holding them in much less
formal settings, and to also consider alternative means to develop
their ideas. This document also recommends that the community abandon
the term "Bar BOF" and instead use other terms such "side meeting", in
order to stress the unofficial nature of these gatherings.
Working Group Summary
This document is not the product of any IETF WG.
Issues covered by this document have been widely discussed on the IETF
mailing list.
Document Quality
The document was reviewed by Russ Housley for the IESG.
Note to RFC Editor
Please make three changes:
First, please remove the extra right parenthesis.
OLD:
perhaps most importantly, a distinct lack of drinks.)
NEW:
perhaps most importantly, a distinct lack of drinks.
Second, please reword this paragraph in Section 4:
OLD:
Having side meetings mimic working group meetings is also confusing
to attendees. There is at least one case where some side meeting
participants believed that they were attending an actual working
group meeting, and incorrect press announcements were generated as a
consequence. The IESG is usually not amused when mistakes like this
happen. When side meetings take place at restaurants or elsewhere
away from IETF meeting rooms, the chance for confusion is much lower.
NEW:
Having side meetings mimic working group meetings is also confusing
to attendees. In at least one case, some side meeting participants
believed that they were attending an actual working group meeting,
and incorrect press announcements were generated. When side
meetings take place at restaurants or elsewhere away from IETF
meeting rooms, the chance for confusion is much lower.
Third, please move the word "also" in Section 5:
OLD:
organizers should consider the value of also holding
NEW:
organizers should also consider the value of holding