hi all, here’s a neat call to action from the IETF to entangle ourselves across organizational boundaries a little more. i’ve never gotten involved in the IETF because i never really felt like i had a starting point, but i’d like to. maybe we could form a little gang to follow up on this? mikey New Project: Operators and the IETF As some of you may know, the team behind Deploy360 also works on other, related projects whenever that makes sense. I’m extremely happy today to get to announce one such new project! We’re calling it “Operators and the IETF” and I’m really looking forward to it. The objective of this new project is ultimately to facilitate communications between the operator community and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) to help ensure that operational realities inform the development of key standards. We want to foster a larger and more engaged operator community around the IETF and protocol development work. In order to ensure that we take the most effective action, we will focus initially on talking to operators around the world, gathering information and defining the problem statement(s). If you are an operator, we need your input! We want to know if you are active in the IETF or not, and why – no matter the reasons. You can provide your input in three ways: The quickest and easiest is likely to complete our online survey. Just answer as honestly and completely as you can (and then remember to share the link with friends and colleagues). Possibly the best way to get us your input, although less convenient or immediate, is to tell us in person. Keep an eye out for us at networking events around the globe (and watch our travel announcements here on the blog), we are out there primarily to talk to you – so come find us! Dan, Jan, Megan, and I would absolutely love to sit down somewhere with a snack or a drink and riff on this, as well as other networking topics. Finally, if you’re feeling exceptionally wordy, you can always shoot us an email with your thoughts written out long form. Most importantly: These options are not mutually exclusive! Feel free to complete the survey, send a follow up email, and find us in person to chat. We don’t mind at all. =) Once we have collected enough information, likely in the second half of 2014 or so, we will evaluate all of the input received and propose strategies for solving identified problems and closing identified gaps. More on that once we have some input to analyze! So what are you waiting for? Go take the survey! And/or find one of us at SANOG, JANOG, NZNOG, NANOG, APRICOT, MENOG, IETF, or ICANN in the next couple months. I’m looking forward to it! PHONE: 651-647-6109, FAX: 866-280-2356, WEB: www.haven2.com, HANDLE: OConnorStP (ID for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.)