virtualUKNOF March 2022 Event Report

63 people from 12 countries joined us for a panel on how Network Operator Groups (NOGs) are adapting to hybrid events. Almost a third were first time attendees.

Panel Discussion

Before beginning with presentations, we started with a minute’s silence to acknowledge the loss of Cliff Stanford. Cliff started Demon Internet and pioneered UK dial-up Internet access in the early 1990s.

The first half of the event had presentations on the experiences of UKNOF, NANOG, RIPE, NLNOG and AV Department.

• Marek Isalski started with a talk that looked at UKNOF’s learning curve and coexistence with city NOGs. He concluded with the positive experience of a hybrid UKNOF48 event in November 2021.
• Edward McNair spoke about how NANOG took advantage of the pandemic to change itself as an organisation. While part of the development focused on a new streaming platform, significant energy has also gone into inter-sessional activity.
• Mirjam Kühne noted that RIPE had been virtual throughout the pandemic. Nonetheless, it continued providing childcare support to help attendees focus on the event. She noted how difficult it is to build and sustain relationships over a screen.
• Melchior Aelmans described how the regulations changed during planning for an NLNOG day. And the app for checking vaccination certificates did not recognise non-EU certificates. He described how important it was for remote presenters to be able to hear what was being said in the room. That insight allowed them to respond appropriately when answering questions.
• Mark Kisby described how AV Department began its change towards hybrid events before the pandemic. They changed because of Brexit and a recognition of the need to reduce the environmental impact of travel on the planet. He described the technology changes and how they support simultaneous translation into multiple languages, including sign-language.

The panel discussed how to integrate physical events with Internet participation. They discussed the increased costs of hybrid events and the maturity of the tools available for Internet social events. They also spoke about supporting participation from people early in their careers. And they noted the challenges of participating from a desk while tasked with other work.

Thanks to Patrons, Partners, and Friends of UKNOF!

We are grateful to our 2022 corporate patrons: FLEXOPTIX and IPv4 Market Group as PREMIUM patrons, with Internet Systems Consortium and Hilco Streambank as PROMOTER patrons. We’d also like to thank our partners Bogons and Portfast, and Friends of UKNOF.

UKNOF News

UKNOF49 will take place on Tuesday, 12 April. You can now register to attend, whether you want to join over the Internet or in Manchester. If you are interested in presenting at the next or a subsequent UKNOF, please submit your proposal or contact any member of the Programme Committee.