Charter · since 2000
The shortest possible explanation of what we are.
The Swiss Network Operators Group is an informal group of people who deal with the technology and operation of the Swiss Internet. It was established in early 2000 and has met, roughly twice a year, ever since.
Principles
What we agree on.
Four ideas that have held since the first meeting in 2000. Everything else — the programme, the list, the meetings — falls out of these.
SwiNOG aims to improve the quality of Internet services in Switzerland by promoting the free exchange of technical ideas and information between the various companies and organisations.
SwiNOG is non-political and is not a lobby group. It may serve as a focus for discussion on technical aspects of political, legal or commercial issues that affect the Swiss Internet — but it does not take sides.
SwiNOG is aimed at technical personnel working for service providers active in Switzerland. It is open to everyone, but the room belongs to the people who run the wires.
SwiNOG is based on a small set of common ideas and uses public resources — mailing lists, websites, meetings — to invite individuals and companies to participate.
The Setup
Community vs Association
SwiNOG itself is an open community for everyone interested in the engineering, operation and development of the Internet in Switzerland.
You do not need to be a member of the association to participate, attend meetings, exchange ideas or contribute to the community.
SwiNOG is built on technical curiosity, open discussion, practical experience and personal exchange between people who care about networks.
Everyone is welcome.
Association
The SwiNOG Association provides the legal and organisational foundation behind SwiNOG.
It enables us to enter into contracts with venues, suppliers and service providers, manage finances, handle sponsorships and organise SwiNOG meetings in a transparent and reliable way.
The association exists to support the community — not to limit it.
Its purpose includes the organisation of at least one SwiNOG conference per year, the promotion of technical exchange among people involved in the operation and development of the Swiss Internet, coordination with other Network Operator Groups, and the general support of the Internet community.
Purpose of the association
What the statutes ask us to do.
Article 2 of the association’s statutes. Plain language version below; the binding German text lives in the registry filing.
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01Organise at least one SwiNOG conference per yearTwice a year, in practice. A neutral room where engineers can present, listen, argue, and leave with better answers than they arrived with.
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02Promote the exchange of technical ideas, opinions and informationBetween the technical people involved in the development or operation of the Swiss Internet — and beyond national borders where it helps.
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03Coordinate with other Network Operator GroupsWe’re the Swiss counterpart in a wider family — NANOG, RIPE, UKNOF, DENOG and others. Cross-pollination keeps everyone honest.
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04Participate in and promote the Internet communityShow up at IETF, RIPE and IGF when it matters. Lend hands and equipment to community projects. Mentor when asked.
Resources
How the community talks.
We run a handful of mailing lists, a website, and the two meetings. That’s it. The whole stack is deliberately small so volunteers can keep it alive without burning out.
Mailing list
swinog@lists.swinog.ch
The main list. 1k+ subscribers. Operational discussions, outage reports, etc. Several smaller lists for narrow technical topics (BGP, peering, transport, Job offerings).
Subscribe →Meetings
Two per year
Spring and autumn, rotating across Swiss cities. Free to attend, sponsor-funded, two days of talks and side-rooms.
See archive →Web & social
www.swinog.ch
Site, news, slides, recordings. We also keep a small Mastodon presence and a low-volume LinkedIn page.
Open site →Chat/p>
Telegram Chat
xxx
Topics →Organisation
The boring legal bits.
- Name
- SwiNOG Organisation — Swiss Network Operators Group
- Form
- Verein (Swiss association)
- Community since
- 24 February 2000
- Association
- Founded 27 July 2009
- Legal domicile
- Oberrengstrasse 37, 8135 Langnau am Albis
- Postal address
- SwiNOG Organisation, 8000 Zürich
- Web
- www.swinog.ch
- Contact
- swinog-core@swinog.ch
Executive board
Five volunteers.
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simon@swinog.orgSimon RyfPresident
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roman@swinog.orgRoman HochuliVice President
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steven@swinog.orgSteven GloggerTreasurer
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sandra@swinog.orgSandra MenziActuary
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max@swinog.orgMassimiliano StucchiAmbassador