Session Date/Time: 16 May 2024 16:00

EODIR

Summary

The EODIR session covered updates on outreach activities, various IETF surveys, and a detailed discussion on restarting technical tutorials at the IETF. Key outcomes include plans for better communication of outreach efforts, insights from the recent Community Survey, and an initial consensus to explore a lightweight, community-driven framework for reintroducing tutorials, with specific action items to refine the proposal and engage with the IESG.

Key Discussion Points

Activities Update:
- Outreach: Jay reported on Dave Taylor's outreach at Open Source Summit (ITF tools) and an upcoming remote speaking engagement at APrIGF in July. New connections were made at the IGF Kyoto, showing interest from the distributed web (dweb) community in IETF 120 activities.
- Mailing List Communication: A suggestion was made, and Jay agreed, to send quick notes about outreach activities to the EODIR email list, in addition to wiki updates.
- LCC Comms: Greg reminded participants of the monthly LCC Comms update meeting, open to all community members, which focuses on operational aspects complementing EODIR.
- Working Group Chairs Forum: Bron Gan has offered to give a talk on his personal experiences managing a working group at an upcoming forum.
- New Participants Program: Planning for new participant activities will begin soon. Paul inquired about the new disclaimer for newcomer participation and mentoring, noting concerns about its legalistic tone. It was acknowledged that the disclaimer needs rewriting to be more conversational.
IETF Surveys:
- Community Survey: Greg and Jay provided an update on the IETF Community Survey. Key findings include:
  - The IETF is effective at its mission but has room for improvement.
  - It's an important organization, outperforming peers.
  - Participation is driven by personal interest and specific technology.
  - Gender diversity remains an issue, though with signs of improvement.
  - Participation is dominated by individuals from two regions.
  - Behavioral issues exist but are hard to pinpoint.
  - New participants require significant learning to be effective, validating EODIR's work.
  - Email remains the universally preferred communication method, even among younger participants (Jay clarified this indicates younger people adapt their communication method to the recipient population).
  - Karen raised a point about differentiating communication preference from functionality needs (e.g., tracking conversations).
- Experimental Drop-out Survey (IETF 118 to 119): An experimental survey targeted participants of IETF 118 (Brisbane) who did not attend IETF 119 (remotely or in-person). The goal is to identify barriers to continued participation. Challenges include learning the process for such surveys, and potential data quality issues (e.g., differing email addresses, non-real registrants). Jay suggested considering a longer delay (e.g., a year) before surveying non-returning participants to account for regional attendance patterns and travel costs.
- Other Planned Surveys: Jay mentioned several other surveys in planning: one for the IESG about working group chairs, a survey on attendance at a potential China meeting, and an update to the ID Authors tools survey (last done three years ago).
Tutorials at the IETF:
- Karen presented a draft framework for restarting community-driven technical and tools tutorials, aiming for a lightweight process.
- Objectives: Discussion focused on whether the goal is to provide useful information for meeting participation (e.g., area overviews, technology deep dives for active working groups) or to promote IETF technology (e.g., expert videos).
- Challenges: A significant concern raised by Jay was the lack of available time in the already overloaded meeting agenda, especially on Sundays.
- Suggestions:
  - Maria suggested long-term planning for tutorials, ensuring regular updates and potentially handover processes to reduce presenter burden.
  - Deb emphasized the value of in-person tutorials for interaction and networking, but also suggested recording them and providing video documentation for tools like DataTracker (similar to MeetEcho videos).
  - Jay recalled a recent RASA-R research group tutorial as an example of successful ad-hoc efforts and suggested creating a framework for community-submitted proposals.
  - Jay also suggested reviving "best hits" from past tutorials, such as "Bringing new work to the IETF" or sessions on the consensus process. Tutorials from review directorates (SEC, RTG, TSV) on writing security considerations or reviewing documents were also proposed.
  - Deb highlighted that different learning styles mean written documentation should not preclude presentations or videos.
- Path Forward: A sense of those present indicated strong interest in restarting tutorials. While Karen's draft framework aimed to be lightweight, a sense of those present suggested less "over-engineering" and more direct action: pick two well-received topics (e.g., an area overview and a technology-related one like "bringing new work to the IETF") and simply run them for the next few meetings, iterating and improving based on feedback. The IESG would need to be engaged regarding agenda slotting.

Decisions and Action Items

Decision: Jay will send quick outreach notes to the EODIR email list.
Action Item: Karen to refine the tutorial framework document, incorporating feedback received, with a focus on a lightweight, community-driven process for technical and tools tutorials.
Action Item: Karen to discuss with the IESG about potential time slots for tutorials during IETF meetings (e.g., Sunday) or as interim virtual sessions, considering the agenda constraints.
Action Item: Participants are invited to add further suggestions for future tutorial topics to the document notes.

Next Steps

Refine the tutorial proposal based on current feedback and discuss with IESG.
EODIR plans to hold a Friday morning side meeting during IETF 120 in Vancouver.