[pp.int.general] PPI congress - meeting

[Reinier Bakels]

>> For a fruitful discussion on such topics, I believe *advance* preparation 
>> is needed. Someone should sit down and write a "position paper", 
>> something that people can agree or disagree on, but which should help to 
>> provide clarity. Needless to say, thius is a lot of work. But is should 
>> be done anyway - and it is infeasible at a conference tiself, if only 
>> because the underlying facts and sources have to be researched. perhaps 
>> even some funding is needed - not everybody can afford to spend (e.g.) a 
>> month to volunteer work. (I don't say this for my own benefit - I happen 
>> to be financially independent)
>
> I entirely agree. So why not step back and leave the conference thing for 
> what it is at this very time ?
> We can work collaboratively on all of this online. Having red what I red 
> and building upon it I now think we need :
>
> - online collaborative (closed?) (centralised?) workspace(s). This would 
> allow teams to work on projects. This would avoid the Uppsala glitch.
> - a online meeting room system. voice, video, whiteboard (etc) features. 
> This would enable everyone to attend (work) meetings.
>
> Does the PPI has access to this type of infrastructure at this very time?

Thanks for the support. I think one element is still missing: you need 
active workgroup leaders. Providing the tools is not enough. It is easy to 
debate forever. We are all proficient in producing words. Providing facts is 
more effort. Someone should sit down and prepare e.g. "position statements". 
If one disagrees, that is information too.

No, I am not available, at least not in the months to come.

reinier