ISSUE: Meeting scheduling

[John C Klensin]

Some years ago, after a heated set of discussions within the
community, the IESG and the Secretariat committed to putting
meeting scheduling on a minimum of 18 months, and preferably
24 months, out in the future basis.    Lead times like that
permit other organizations to work around our schedules, and a
number of other useful varieties of advanced planning.   With
very short lead times, or schedules that try to reserve a
choice of several weeks, we end up with important conflicts,
people missing either our meetings or other important ones,
etc.

But we haven't been doing very well.  Spring 2004 (8 months
out) has dates (good) but no location.  Summer 2004 (a year
out) has no dates (two separate target weeks), and dates after
that are more or less set, but without locations, but we've
had some experience with such dates turning out to be
tentative when the Secretariat finds sponsors only for another
time.

And, of course, the last few meetings, including Vienna, were
firmed up only with very short (less than six months) lead
time.

This impresses me as unhealthy and unprofessional.

    john