¶ Setting the time and date
- Working Group chairs should discuss plans for scheduling virtual interim meetings with Area Directors, including any considerations for not conflicting with Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) meetings and avoiding periods around IETF meetings during which the IESG has determined interim meetings should not be held.
- Meetings must be scheduled so that they provide fair access for all working group participants (and are announced at least one week—and preferably two weeks—in advance).
Any conferencing platform may be chosen by chairs for a virtual interim meeting. The IETF provides support for both Meetecho and Webex with instructions provided below. If another platform (such as Jitsi, Google Meet, or Zoom) is chosen, please skip to the “Adding the meeting to the IETF Datatracker” section of this document.
- Ensure you are logged into the IETF Datatracker as a Working Group (WG) Chair or WG Secretary.
- Open the Datatracker session request form.
- Complete the form, noting that the default value for "Remote participation" is set to "Automatically create Meetecho conference".
- When complete, press the submit button on the IETF Datatracker session request form.
If you have completed the the steps for using Meetecho, you may skip to the "Communicating about the meeting" section below.
- Log into the IETF Webex dashboard using the IETF-provided Webex account credentials. (A WG chair may request an account via the Webex Account Request form.)
- Click the
Schedule a Meeting button.
- Set the meeting topic to
[WG ACRONYM] working group interim.
- Select the planned date and time.
- Select the desired timezone.
- Add an agenda, if desired (not required) by using:
Show advanced options > Agenda
- Keep
public meeting selected by using: Show advanced options > Scheduling options > Public meeting > Listed on public calendar
- Select
automatic recording to avoid having to manually start recording as the interim meeting starts by using:
Show advanced options > Scheduling options > Automatic recording > Automatically start recording when the meeting starts
This step has already been completed if you have followed the instructions for Meetecho above. If you are using Webex or any other conferencing platform, you will need to follow the steps below.
Before beginning you will need to log into IETF Datatracker as WG chair and will need details about the meeting, including the URL for the conferencing system being used.
-
Fill out the Interim Meeting Request form
-
You may later update or add information (such as the agenda).
-
Adding the meeting to the IETF Datatracker will cause the IETF Secretariat to announce the meeting. Once the meeting has been announced, it will be visible from the Meetings tab on the WG's Datatracker page and in the IETF Datatracker’s upcoming meeting list.
-
Working Group Chairs or Secretaries should send an email reminder to the WG email list several days before the meeting with links to the agenda and conferencing coordinates.
- When logged into IETF Datatracker as a WG Chair, upload the meeting agenda via the Meetings tab on the WG's Datatracker page.
- When logged into IETF Datatracker as a WG Chair, upload any slides or meeting materials to the Meetings tab on the WG's Datatracker page.
- Remember to start recording if you haven't set up an automatic recording in Webex or other platforms; Meetecho automatically records the session.
If you are NOT using IETF-provided Webex or Meetecho, you will need participants to provide affirmative consent for recordings.
- Provide a reminder of the IETF Note Well at the start of the meeting.
- Upload recording to the IETF YouTube channel:
1.1. This will be done automatically within a week if the meeting was held using IETF Webex or Meetecho.
1.2. If the meeting was held using another platform, send email to support@ietf.org to have the recording uploaded.
- Upload the meeting minutes to the IETF Datatracker when logged into IETF Datatracker as a WG Chair. (Or, if this is not possible, send email to support@ietf.org).
- You may also post notes to the working group meeting email list.
At any time, if you run into difficulty or have questions, please send email to: support@ietf.org
IESG Statement: Guidance on Face-to-Face and Interim Virtual Meetings
RFC 2418: IETF Working Group Guidelines and Procedures