Subject: RE: Can employers forbid you from talking about IETF activities?

From: "Fleischman, Eric W" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 1 Jun 2001 10:20:36 -0700

I clearly remember the first IETF meeting I attended back 
in December 1992 (in Washington DC). During the plenary 
(bad timing on my part) I mentioned the desirability of 
being able to consult with our corporations' before 
taking important votes, err, I should have to written 
"loud hummings". Shortly thereafter, I found myself 
surrounded by maybe 12 angry people, some of them 
intimidatingly large, who reiterated the abuse I 
had just publicly endured for my comment, but 
this time doing it up close and personal. For the 
uninitiated, Brian's point below pretty much 
summarizes the way things are OFFICIALLY in the IETF. 

The IETF has every right to assert that attendees 
represent only themselves while participating in 
IETF functions. This is a noble goal that should be 
cherished. Unfortunately, the news media, the "average" 
readers of trade rags, and the policies of many 
companies (including my employer) often have a very 
different understanding: we represent our companies 
in any public, technical forum paid for by our 
employer, regardless of whether that forum chooses 
to recognize our representation or not. The extent by 
which our activities and public statements are tailored 
by this representation varies considerably from company 
to company, even in the IETF, despite the noble 
principles by which the IETF is run. However, even 
those who are unencumbered by such oversight and policies 
are hopefully not so naive as to believe that their 
decorum and the quality of their participation does not 
reflect on their employer.

-----Original Message-----
From: Brian E Carpenter [mailto:[email-masked]]
Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2001 8:38 AM
To: [email-masked]
Cc: [email-masked]
Subject: Re: Can employers forbid you from talking about IETF
activities?

As far as I can see, IETF participants are only bound by IETF rules
when they are participating in IETF activities. 

  Brian