New Participants
Welcome New Participants! The programs and resources on this page are designed to make your first IETF meetings as productive as possible.
Participating in IETF Meetings as a New Participant
The IETF defines "New Participants" as anyone who has participated in fewer than 5 meetings (onsite or remote) and provides events and other services to help them get the most from the meeting. Please start by reading the Introduction to IETF Meetings, which covers all of the basics you need to know about IETF Meetings, and familiarize yourself with the Meeting Technology as this is probably very different from anything you may have used before.
Guides Program
The IETF Guides program, pairs new participants with an experienced IETF person to help you become acclimated and effective quickly. The intent is for you to have a call with your guide before the meeting, a meeting during the beginning of the meeting, and check in some time during the meeting so they can help you with any questions you might have. For more information on the program see the IETF Guides page or sign-up.
Pre-meeting preparation
We will be hosting two Meetecho test sessions prior to IETF 122 for New Participants. These sessions will help you become familiar with the most useful features of Meetecho, the conferencing technology used in every IETF meeting session. There will also be time for general Q&A about the upcoming IETF 122 meeting.
Prior to the session starting, please read the Meetecho guide for participants.
When you click on the meeting links below, you will be prompted to log into your datatracker account.
Session 1 - Tuesday, March 4, 2025
Time: 5:00 PM PT / 8:00 PM ET / 01:00 UTC on March 5th
Meetecho call-in details: https://meetecho-meetings.ietf.org/ietf122/?group=testing
Session 2 - Wednesday, March 5, 2025
Time: 6:00 AM PT / 9:00 AM ET / 14:00 UTC
Meetecho call-in details: https://meetecho-meetings.ietf.org/ietf122/?group=testing
There will also be a Meetecho introduction as part of the Welcome/Part 1 - Introduction to the IETF session as part of the New Participation Program.
New Participants Program
This full-day program on Sunday, 16 March 2025 will take place at the meeting venue. After registering for the IETF 122 meeting, additional sign up is required via your participant dashboard. All times below are in local time for Bangkok (UTC+7). Participation in all sessions will be available via Meetecho.
Location: Boromphimarn 1/2
| Time (UTC+7) | Event | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00-10:00 | Welcome/ Introduction to the IETF (including introduction to Meetecho) | A quick introduction to the program, general IETF information and a brief Meetecho review. |
| 10:00-10:30 | Participation in the IETF | This session reviews the various ways participation happens in the IETF. This includes Email, Datatracker, IETF Meetings, and Meeting technology. |
| 10:40-11:40 | Standards Process | Participants will get a basic introduction to the IETF Standards Process including how new work is brought to the IETF, what the lifecycle of new work to RFC looks like and a brief review of examples like Quic or BPF (RFC 9669). |
| 11:40-12:00 | Introduction to the Hackathon | Participants become aware of and familiar with this unique IETF activity, show IETF innovation at work, demonstrate and explain the importance of ‘running code’ in the IETF process, explain its utility to implementors as well as developers of protocols. |
| 12:45-13:30 | Advanced Topics | This session looks further into advanced topics like IETF IPR, the process the IRTF follows and how the IETF compares to other standards organizations. |
| 13:30-14:20 | RFCs and Internet-Drafts |
This session provides useful information about RFCs and Internet-Drafts including Document Formats, Statuses, Subseries and Streams, Structure and Content, Writing an I-D and Auth 48 |
| 14:30-15:30 | Experiences of long time participants panel/Hot Topics | Participants will get an understanding of expectations and practical strategies to be effective in the IETF and discuss some hot topics. |
| 15:30-15:45 | Summary/Wrap-Up | Summary of the day and highlights of other events during the week. |
Quick Connections
Sunday, 16 March 2025, 1600-1700
Location: Pagoda
The Quick Connections session is a simple and effective way for you to be introduced to a variety of experienced IETF attendees — often working group (WG) chairs — who can help you get more involved in your areas of interest. Separate pre-registration is required and available on your participant dashboard after you have registered for the meeting.
New Participant Dinner
Monday, 17 March 2025, Time 18:45-20:45
Location: Goji Restaurant (in the Marriott)
Organized by Secretariat, this event requires separate registration and there is a $15 entrance fee as this is not an IETF funded event.
New Participant Social Hour
Thursday, 20 March 2025, Time 18:15-19:15
Location: Meeting Room 6
This is a great opportunity for new participants to share their experiences and discuss topics of interest with IETF leadership. Refreshments will be provided.
New Participants' Overview Tutorial
This overview is divided into three sections:
- Overview of the IETF
- Introduction to an IETF meeting week
- Overview of resources (people, tools, information)
The entire tutorial can be viewed in a 20 minute block of time. Or, if you prefer, you can view each section separately. This introduction was developed to help new participants understand how to start participating in the IETF. It’s intended to be a practical introduction. As such, it does not cover topics like the history of the IETF or how to author an Internet draft. Those topics are covered in other tutorials, available on our website. We strongly recommend that you download the accompanying slide deck.
More tips for New Participants
It is best to plan to be present the whole week, to benefit from cross-fertilization between working groups (WGs) and from hallway discussions. The meeting agenda can change, and there have been instances of participants missing important sessions due to last-minute scheduling changes after their travel plans were fixed. Being present the whole week is the only way to avoid this annoyance. If you cannot find meetings all week to interest you, you can still make the most of the IETF meeting by working between sessions.
As a new participant, don't be afraid to strike up conversations with leadership. If the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) and Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) members, and Working Group and Birds-of-a-Feather (BOF) chairs are very approachable. Note, however, that if someone is very busy and you want to discuss a complex topic then they may ask you to send email after the meeting ends.
For a good primer on how to effectively engage in the IETF, read RFC 4144: How to Gain Prominence and Influence in Standards Organizations.
If you have any questions, please contact support@ietf.org!