tAs requested by an Advisory Board (AB) member, I am filing an issue for consideration by the AB. The upcoming Advisory Committee (AC) meeting, that is normally part of the annual TPAC week, is currently scheduled to be a virtual-only Advisory Committee session before TPAC week. This seems inconsistent with the W3C Process requirement for a face-to-face AC meeting twice a year.
The face-to-face AC Meeting at TPAC is a key reason for AC Representatives (AC reps) to go to TPAC in-person, both for the AC Meeting itself and the opportunity to meet and interact directly with other AC reps, during the meeting, e.g. to discuss raising issues or asking questions during Q&A, and after the meeting for informal chats about the overall state of W3C, the most pressing issues, what collective actions the AC may wish to pursue or provide feedback or requests to the AB.
A virtual-only meeting provides no such easy opportunities for direct informal interactions among AC reps or between AC reps and members of the AB, which are usually one of the most valuable aspects of a face-to-face AC meeting.
By removing the face-to-face AC Meeting from TPAC week, one of the key (for many, the primary) reason(s) for traveling to TPAC is/are removed, and thus makes it hard (or harder) for at least some AC reps to justify the time and travel to TPAC, despite all the secondary and additional benefits of participating in TPAC in-person.
Thank you for considering this issue, and how to best drive a resolution.