Session Date/Time: 17 Mar 2024 02:30

Tutorial: New Participants' Overview

Summary

This session provided an overview of the IETF, how it functions, and resources available to new participants. Key topics included how work is started, the role of working groups, the structure of IETF meetings, and available support mechanisms. The session also included details about upcoming events and social opportunities for new attendees.

Key Discussion Points

IETF Structure and Function: Discussion of working groups (WGs) as the primary unit of work, the importance of email lists, and the role of the IESG. BOFs (Birds of a Feather) were explained as a venue for exploring new work.
Starting New Work: Emphasis on contribution-driven development, finding collaborators, and using dispatch sessions (including a joint dispatch experiment at this meeting) to determine where new ideas fit within the IETF structure.
IETF Meeting Dynamics: Overview of plenary sessions, area-wide meetings (e.g., SAG), social events (lack of a hosted social event this year), and the Hackathon. Explained the Hot RFC sessions as opportunities to find collaborators.
Working Group Sessions: Importance of reading documents before attending WG sessions. Indication that face-to-face meetings are for discussing changes and open issues, with official decisions made via mailing lists.
Resources for New Participants: Explanation of the data tracker, IANA, the RFC Editor, and Zulip. Emphasis on the anti-harassment policy and escalation paths. Introduction of the Ombuds team.
Etiquette and Participation: Importance of respectful behavior, addressing ideas not people, and speaking as an individual contributor. Mention of the IETF's informal dress code.
Technical Tutorials: Announcement of technical tutorials on BGP taking place during the week.
Connecting with Other Participants: Discussion of the new participant dinner, social hour, a designated meetup spot, and communication channels like Zulip and mailing lists.

Decisions and Action Items

Action Item: Secretariat to email the new participants mailing list with the location of the designated meetup spot.
Action Item: Participants to test the Mead echo tool and get familiar with its functionality.
Decision: Attendees should provide feedback on the new participant presentation to help improve it in the future (send to EODER mailing list or talk to presenters).

Next Steps

Attendees encouraged to explore the agenda, attend working group sessions that align with their interests, and participate in the upcoming technical tutorials on BGP. New participants encouraged to attend the upcoming Quick Connections session (if registered) and the new participant dinner (if registered).