IETF | IETF Guides program

The IETF works on a broad range of networking technologies that provide the foundation for the Internet's growth and evolution.
While most IETF work takes place online, meetings and other events such as Hackathons provide in-person opportunities to advance work within the IETF.
The IETF is the premier Internet standards organization. It follows open and well-documented processes for setting these standards. Once published, those standards are made freely available.
The global IETF community works together in many different ways to produce high quality, relevant technical documents that influence the way people design, use, and manage the Internet.
By supporting the IETF today, you are ensuring a free and open Internet exists tomorrow.
The IETF Guides Program matches experienced IETF participants with new participants at IETF meetings in order to aid their integration into the IETF community through advice, help, and collected wisdom.
The guidance provided around and during an IETF meeting should speed up the time it takes for new participants to become active, contributing members of the IETF. The Guides Program has Expectations and Standards of Behavior for all participants to follow.
The Program focuses on assisting participants who are new to the IETF and participating in-person at an upcoming IETF meeting. However, any participant may request a guide. For more information, please review the FAQ for potential participants.
To request a Guide for an upcoming IETF meeting, please visit the Request a Guide page and create an account. Be sure to fill out as much detail as you can (interested topics, preferred language, etc.) so we can find a Guide that best matches your needs. For an idea of what to expect of the program, please see the document: What to Expect - Participant Edition.
A guide plays the role of advisor, coach and teacher, assisting program participants in developing the skills needed to participate effectively within the IETF standards process. For more information on the skills required, please see the FAQ for potential guides.
To sign up as a Guide for an upcoming IETF meeting, please visit the become a guide page, and create an account if you don't already have one. If you’ve been a guide in the past and requested your profile be saved, it is still helpful to log into your profile to update your information. Also be sure to specify or update what topic areas you are interested in.
The guides interface gives you the option of indicating that you are always willing to be a guide or just for one meeting. If you say just once, please remember to come back and indicate you're willing to help in the future when you are able to again. For a idea of what to expect of the program, please see the document: What to Expect - Guides Edition.
NOTE: The IETF Guide Program matches participants and guides on a meeting-by-meeting basis. In the future, we hope to expand the program to provide matches outside of IETF meetings.
This document is an overview of the IETF Guides Program, including basic information, a recommended schedule of interaction, and suggestions for communicating with your assigned Guide.
This document sets out the expectations, including standard of behavior, of IETF participants involved in the Guides Program either as IETF Guides or New Participants supported by IETF Guides.
This document is an overview of the IETF Guides Program, including basic information, a recommended schedule of interaction, and suggestions for communicating with your assigned New Participant.
This page provides answers to common questions about being a participant in the IETF Guides Program.
Here are some questions commonly asked about being a Guide, and answers for each of them.