Session Date/Time: 19 Mar 2025 10:00

IETF 122 Bangkok Plenary Session

Summary

The IETF 122 Bangkok plenary session was held with Roman Dianelli facilitating as IETF Chair. The session included reports from various leadership bodies (IESG, IAB, IRTF, NOMCOM, IETF Trust/IPMC, and LLC), followed by open mic sessions for community questions. Key highlights included strong remote participation (40-50% of attendees), successful hackathon engagement, and leadership transitions. A significant portion of the session was devoted to community discussion about meeting location policies, particularly regarding the upcoming San Francisco meeting (IETF 127) and concerns about inclusivity and accessibility for all community members.

Key Discussion Points

Leadership Reports and Transitions

IESG Report: Presented statistics showing 40% of published RFCs have at least one remote-only author, demonstrating effectiveness of remote participation
IAB Report: Highlighted WSIS+20 process discussions and upcoming workshop reports on AI control and network management
IRTF Transition: Colin Perkins stepped down as IRTF Chair, replaced by Dirk Kutscher. New IRTF Code of Conduct published as RFC 9775
NOMCOM Report: Dan reported on selection process challenges, emphasized need for better community feedback on nominees, and highlighted ongoing DEI concerns

Technical Operations

Document Processing: IESG working to clear publication backlogs, with significant improvements in processing times
RFC Production: Median time through RPC process is 19 weeks, with author responsiveness being a key factor in delays
Network Operations: IPv6-mostly network testing ongoing, hotel network improvements implemented

Meeting Location Controversy

Extensive community discussion emerged regarding IETF 127 in San Francisco and broader meeting location policies:

Inclusion Concerns: Multiple community members expressed inability to attend US meetings due to safety concerns for transgender individuals, visa policy changes, and treatment at borders
Financial Implications: LLC noted several hundred thousand dollar cost to cancel existing venue contracts
Policy Questions: Discussion of whether geographic distribution or full inclusivity should take priority in venue selection
Alternative Proposals: Suggestions included all-remote meetings, multi-site meetings, restricting to consistently inclusive countries, and exploring Africa/Latin America venues

Decisions and Action Items

Confirmed Decisions

IRTF Code of Conduct officially published as RFC 9775
New leadership appointments confirmed by NOMCOM
IETF Trust restructuring to IPMC proceeding with new RFC 5378 and TLP 6.0 planned for release
IETF 123 in Madrid (July) registration open
IETF 124 in Montreal (November) confirmed

Proposed Actions

LLC board to conduct survey on community attendance intentions for San Francisco meeting
Continue IPv6-mostly network testing in Madrid
Explore venues in Africa and other regions outside traditional rotation
Consider encoding inclusivity requirements in future venue contracts

Next Steps

Immediate

LLC board retreat in May to address San Francisco meeting decision and future location policies
Continue IETF Trust/IPMC transition process
Survey community regarding San Francisco attendance intentions

Future Planning

IETF 125 location announcement pending (Asia region)
Explore global host opportunities for IETF 126 (Vienna) and 127
Develop long-term venue selection criteria balancing geographic distribution with inclusive access
Consider alternative meeting formats (remote-only, multi-site, extended duration) to address accessibility challenges

The session concluded with the community having raised fundamental questions about the organization's values regarding inclusivity versus traditional geographic rotation, with no immediate resolution but clear direction for further board deliberation.