3.1. IETF LLC

The IETF LLC is responsible for assessing the suitability of a venue for an IETF meeting and is responsible for any reassessment in response to a major event that leaves the prior conclusion in doubt. If such an event occurs more than fourteen weeks before the start of the scheduled meeting, it is deemed a non-emergency situation. Later events, up to and including the week of a meeting itself, are deemed emergency situations.¶

In non-emergency situations, if the IETF LLC determines the scheduled meeting clearly cannot proceed (e.g., the venue has permanently closed), then it MUST share the reason(s) with the community and MUST consult on its proposed remedy. In less clear cases, the IETF LLC SHOULD conduct a formal reassessment process that includes:¶

• Consulting with the community on the timetable of the decision process.¶
• Consulting with the community on criteria to assess the impact of new developments.¶
• Publishing an assessment report and recommended remedy.¶
• Seeking approval of the IESG and the Chair of the IRTF for the recommendation.¶

In emergency situations, which lack the time for a consultation process, this document provides criteria that have IETF consensus and that the IETF LLC MUST apply in its assessment.¶

The IETF LLC will collect information about the likely impact to in-person attendance of national travel advisories, national and corporate travel bans, availability of transportation, quarantine requirements, etc., and report the results to the IESG and the Chair of the IRTF.¶

These criteria, some of which are derived from Section 3 of [RFC8718], apply to venues that are re-evaluated due to an emergency:¶

• Local safety guidelines allow the venue and hotels to host a meeting with the expected number of participants and staff.¶
• It is possible to provision Internet access to the venue that allows those attending in person to utilize the Internet for all their IETF, business, and day-to-day needs; in addition, there must be sufficient bandwidth and access for remote attendees. Provisions include, but are not limited to, native and unmodified IPv4 and IPv6 connectivity and global reachability; there may be no additional limitation that would materially impact their Internet use. To ensure availability, it MUST be possible to provision redundant paths to the Internet.¶
• A reasonable number of food and drink establishments are open and available within walking distance to provide for the expected number of participants and staff.¶
• Local health and public safety infrastructure expects to have adequate capacity to support an influx of visitors during the meeting week.¶

Finally, the IETF LLC MUST assess the impact on its own operations, including:¶

• The number of critical support staff, contractors, and volunteers who can be at the venue.¶
• The financial impact of continuing a meeting or implementing any of the possible remedies.¶

The IETF LLC SHOULD cancel an in-person meeting and explore potential remedies if it judges a meeting to be logistically impossible or inconsistent with its fiduciary responsibilities.¶

In the event of considerations this document does not foresee, the IETF LLC should protect the health and safety of attendees and staff, as well as the fiscal health of the organization, with approval from the IESG and the Chair of the IRTF. The IESG should pursue a later update of this document.¶

3.2. The IESG and the Chair of the IRTF

If the IETF LLC assesses there are no fundamental logistical or financial obstacles to holding a meeting in an emergency situation, the IESG and the Chair of the IRTF assess if projected attendance is high enough to achieve the benefit of an in-person meeting. The IESG and the Chair of the IRTF SHOULD cancel the in-person meeting if that benefit is insufficient.¶

The IESG and the Chair of the IRTF are discouraged from relying on a simple head count of expected meeting attendance. Even dramatically smaller meetings with large remote participation may be successful. In addition to the IETF LLC's estimate, the IESG and the Chair of the IRTF might consider:¶

• Are many working groups and research groups largely unaffected by the restrictions, so that they can operate effectively?¶
• Is there a critical mass of key personnel at most working group meetings to leverage the advantages of in-person meetings, even if many participants are remote?¶

4.1. Relocation

For attendees, the least disruptive response is to retain the meeting week but move it to a more-accessible venue. To the maximum extent possible, this will be geographically close to the original venue. In particular, the IETF LLC SHOULD meet the criteria in [RFC8718] and [RFC8719].¶

Relocation that requires new air travel arrangements for attendees SHOULD NOT occur less than one month prior to the start of the meeting.¶

4.2. Virtualization

The second option, and one that has fewer issues with venue availability, is to make a meeting fully online. This requires different IETF processes and logistical operations that are outside the scope of this document.¶

4.3. Postponement

Although it is more disruptive to the schedules of participants, the next best option is to delay a meeting until a specific date, at the same venue, at which conditions are expected to improve. The new end date of a meeting must be at least 30 days before the beginning of the following IETF meeting, and a meeting MUST begin no earlier than 30 days after the postponement announcement.¶

Due to scheduling constraints at the venue, this will usually not be feasible. However, it is more likely to allow attendees to recover at least some of their travel expenses than other options.¶

Note that it is possible to both postpone and relocate a meeting, though this has the disadvantages of both.¶

4.4. Cancellation

The IETF LLC, IESG, and Chair of the IRTF may cancel a meeting entirely in the event that worldwide conditions make it difficult for attendees to even attend online. Not holding a meeting at all can have wide implications, such as effects on the nomination process and seating of new officers.¶

Cancellation is likely the only practical alternative when emergencies occur immediately before or during a meeting, so that there is no opportunity to make other arrangements.¶