IETF Guides program

The IETF Guides Program matches experienced IETF participants with new participants at IETF meetings in order to aid their integration into the IETF community through advice, help, and collected wisdom.

The guidance provided around and during an IETF meeting should speed up the time it takes for new participants to become active, contributing members of the IETF. The Guides Program has Expectations and Standards of Behavior for all participants to follow.

To Request a Guide

The Program focuses on assisting participants who are new to the IETF and participating in-person at an upcoming IETF meeting. However, any participant may request a guide. For more information, please review the FAQ for potential participants. 

To request a Guide for an upcoming IETF meeting, please visit the Request a Guide page and create an account. Be sure to fill out as much detail as you can (interested topics, preferred language, etc.) so we can find a Guide that best matches your needs. For an idea of what to expect of the program, please see the document: What to Expect - Participant Edition.

To Become a Guide

A guide plays the role of advisor, coach and teacher, assisting program participants in developing the skills needed to participate effectively within the IETF standards process. For more information on the skills required, please see the FAQ for potential guides.

To sign up as a Guide for an upcoming IETF meeting, please visit the become a guide page, and create an account if you don't already have one. If you’ve been a guide in the past and requested your profile be saved, it is still helpful to log into your profile to update your information. Also be sure to specify or update what topic areas you are interested in.

The guides interface gives you the option of indicating that you are always willing to be a guide or just for one meeting. If you say just once, please remember to come back and indicate you're willing to help in the future when you are able to again. For a idea of what to expect of the program, please see the document: What to Expect - Guides Edition.

NOTE: The IETF Guide Program matches participants and guides on a meeting-by-meeting basis. In the future, we hope to expand the program to provide matches outside of IETF meetings.