Subject: BoF proposals for IETF 109 (Nov 2020)

From: Barry Leiba <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 2020 13:32:13 -0400

The IESG will be trying something with respect to BoF proposals for
IETF 109.  We have found, over time, that BoF proposals often come in
at the last moment before the deadline, without consultation with the
relevant ADs.  A result of that is that we have no time to engage with
the proponents for more information or for clarification, nor for
tuning the proposal.  Sometimes, BoF proposals that might otherwise be
approved are not approved.

What we are doing for IETF 109 is the following:
- We are leaving the deadline for BoF proposals as scheduled, 2 Oct.
- We are asking for preliminary proposals two weeks earlier, 18 Sept.
- We will use the two weeks in between to discuss the proposals with
the proponents, as necessary, so that the IESG and the IAB can better
understand what’s being proposed, and so that we can provide advice.

The preliminary proposals do not need to be detailed: we need to know
briefly what’s being proposed, who the proponents are, and whether the
BoF is meant to discuss a working group charter or not.  This should
be posted to the BoF wiki <https://trac.tools.ietf.org/bof/trac/wiki>
and by email to the IESG <[email-masked]>.  There’s still two weeks,
until the normal deadline, to develop the detailed proposal.

We strongly encourage all BoF requestors to submit preliminary
proposals.  We hope that this will result in fewer surprises, both to
the IESG and IAB and to those making BoF proposals.

Barry, for the IESG