Subject: Re: [vmeet] Problem Statement

From: John Leslie <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:55:54 -0400

Fred Baker <[email-masked]> wrote:
> 
> It would be good to start the discussion with a problem statement.
> What problem do we want to solve? Examples of problems I could imagine
> wanting to solve include
> 
> - "how to have a 1:1 chat around a document, a presentation, and
>    a whiteboard"

   Not our primary goal, IMHO.

> - "how to have a design team discussion around a document, a
>    presentation, and a whiteboard"

   Closer, but still not our primary goal.

   OTOH, this would be a good "learning-curve" exercise -- perhaps
we should set it as an internal goal.

> - "how to have an interim meeting (order of "dozens" people) around
>    a document, a presentation, and a whiteboard"

   Included in our goal, IMHO. There were several cases in IETF74
where this would have served the need.

> - "how to remotely participate in a face to face meeting (order
>    of "hundreds" of people) around a document, a presentation, and a
>    whiteboard"

   Essentially our primary goal; but perhaps not practical to get there
in one hop...

> To my way of thinking, while the big difference in the statement is
> a difference of scale, there is also likely to be a difference in
> discussion style. 1:1 or in a small group, folks willi
> - speak freely,
> - take time to draw pictures,
> - not have powerpoint but might open a powerpoint or other file to
>   show one or two slides cherry-picked to save drawing time, and
> - suggest text in a chat room.

   Sounds quite close to where we should aim!

- I think our folks will speak freely regardless of room size;
- I've seen pictures drawn in real-time which helped;
- I hate PowerPoint as much as the next fellow, but pulling individual
  slides can help center a discussion;
- suggesting text in Jabber frequently helps now.

   But in fairness to PowerPoint, we should acknowledge that _a_ chief
benefit of regular IETF meetings is the preparations it encourages:
these are not random gatherings of clever folks, but organized discussions
(hopefully) centered around open issues.

> In medium-sized meetings, discussion shifts from many:many to few:many
> and drawing gives way to prepared slides; I have done things like pop
> open a blank ppt page and type in a display window while people tell
> me what to type, quickly honing text to something they all agree with.

   This is an important example of IETF-nn work. To a large degree,
though, it can be handled by Jabber with a good Document Editor.

> In large meetings, dynamic materials disappear and floor controli
> becomes important.

   Isn't "floor control" an oxymoron at IETF meetings?

> What problems do we want to solve, and what are the important aspects
> of them?

   Our primary charge centers around travel difficulties. We need
meaningful participation by folks that can't arrange travel to a
regular IETF meeting. Meaningful means, at a minimum:

- real-time access to any slides;
- obtaining the floor to speak in real-time;
- audio delay no more than one second;
- ability to recognize who's speaking;
- remote presentors, able to recognize when there are questions.

> Do we want a one-size-fits-all solution, or is it OK to use different
> solutions?

   One size _never_ fits all; but we may not need to satisfy "all".

> Do we want to insist on open source, or proprietary solutions OK?

   We would be foolish to rule out proprietary solution at this point.
OTOH, open source appears to be the future, and we should be careful
not to get left in the past. Perhaps both?

> What cost implications are we willing to incur?

   I don't think this is well-defined. Undoubtedly we will "beg" for
subsidizing costs...

> To what extent does it need to mimic a meeting in a room?

   Not well defined. My guess is that to whatever extent it doesn't,
the learning curve will bite us.

> To what extent do in-room meetings extend to remote participants?

   Pretty substantially, if possible; but not gating on experiments
by IETF-75.

--
John Leslie <[email-masked]>