Re: scribes

[ned.freed@mrochek.com]

> >>>>> "Marshall" == Marshall Rose <mrose+mtr.ietf@dbc.mtview.ca.us> writes:

>     >> It can be useful, for parties not in the room to be able to
>     >> "listen".  I've used it that way in the past.

>     Marshall> exactly. i scribe in one room, so i can read the output
>     Marshall> from a scribe in one or two others...

> Have you actually tended to find this useful?  I've mostly found that
> monitoring rooms I'm not in is completely useless.  If other people
> find this not to be the case, that would be interesting to me.

I for one find it quite useful. As I type this I'm able to track what's going
on in the IMAPEXT working group meeting even through I'm in Los Angeles.
Yesterday I was able to track CALSCH in a similar way, to the point of being
able to make topical comments that were then relayed to the meeting.

The biggest factor in this is the quality of the scribe. A bad scribe makes
it useless, a good scribe makes it useful.

Another major factor is familiarity with the material. I doubt very much that a
tourist watching Jabber traffic would find it useful. But when you know the
topic, have read the drafts, and know the people involved, it isn't hard to
fill in the inevitable gaps.

One problem I've observed during this meeting is that occasionally the Jabber
sessions seem to cut out. When this happens I have to disconnect and reconnect
to get the flow started again. I'd say it is a client problem at my end except
for the fact that others seem to be having the same difficulty.

Finally, I do note that being able to watch the setting on the MBone AND being
able to participate via Jabber, as I was able to do with IEA on Monday, is even
better than Jabber alone.

				Ned

P.S. The audio quality of the MBone was quite good modulo the usual mic
fumbling. Video quality was another matter -- slides were fine but shots of the
room were all way too dark. Hopefully this has been corrected... Pictures of
people aren't very useful when you can't make out the expressions on their
faces, although I did note that posture is often a good predictor of the tone
someone is going to take when they get to the mic.