Re: [802SEC] It doesn't have to be either or
I don't read the survey as saying people won't go to Rome. I expect that
most of our usual attendees will go if we have the meeting there.
But we asked our attendees which they would prefer - attendees who in
the past have asked for non-NA meetings. What the survey results show is
that in this case, the cost of this non-NA meeting and/or the issues of
the venue were too high and outweighed the benefits of holding the
meeting outside NA. I give our attendees credit for high intelligence -
they didn't do this in a vacuum. I know the issue of importance of
holding a meeting outside NA versus costs involved was discussed on the
802.1 reflector. I expect that other groups had discussions either on
their reflectors or during their interim and plenary meetings. Even many
based in Europe had concerns about the Rome venue.
Our members weighed the issues and gave us their preference - we asked
for their preferences and I think we need to give a heavy weight to
their answer - especially since the poll result was 2 to 1.
Also, there was a question on whether there should be a ceiling for
non-NA meeting costs. That question isn't a comparison of Vancouver to
Rome - it is a direct question on what people are willing to pay to get
a non-NA meeting. The responses came out consistant with the Rome vs
Vancouver responses - about 2/3 of attendees chose a ceiling lower than
the Rome venue costs.
BTW, the questions were sent out on the EC reflector for comment. No one
asked to add a question on whether people would go if we chose Rome. If
you wanted that question asked, you should have suggested it then.
Hindsight of "I don't like the answer so you should have asked this
question instead" doesn't accomplish anything.
As I have said before, the issue with Rome isn't only price. I am very
concerned about meeting efficiency with a venue that is difficult to get
to from other hotels and that can accommodate half or fewer of our
attendees even if they are willing to pay the room rate. We work long
hours at our meetings - adding a half to one hour commute to the day is
not going to be productive.
Pat
-----Original Message-----
From: ***** IEEE 802 Executive Committee List *****
[mailto:STDS-802-SEC@LISTSERV.IEEE.ORG] On Behalf Of Bob O'Hara
(boohara)
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 9:01 AM
To: STDS-802-SEC@LISTSERV.IEEE.ORG
Subject: Re: [802SEC] It doesn't have to be either or
I have a point to make with regard to the survey. Several times it has
been said that the survey shows that our members have told us they won't
go to Rome. A variety of reasons have been asserted for this
conclusion, the most frequent being the higher cost of that venue.
My problem with this "conclusion" is that the survey data do not support
it, in any way that you might interpret that data. The survey asked the
members to choose between Vancouver and Rome. The members did. The
survey did not ask the follow-up question of "with these prices, would
you go to Rome, anyway?" or even "Would you go to Rome at these
prices?".
Absent an answer to that question, any conclusion that our members have
rejected going to Rome is only an assertion by the speaker and not
supported by any data that we have gathered.
-Bob
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