1. Send Conservatively, Accept Liberally

This chapter examines how cultural practices in technical governance institutions undermine their stated commitments to openness. Through ethnographic analysis of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), I demonstrate that power in standards-setting operates not through formal exclusion but through organisational cultures privileging particular people, communication styles, and institutional affiliations. The IETF’s techno-optimistic narratives and confrontational working practices systematically disadvantage women and non-commercial participants, contradicting its principles of open participation. These findings hold critical implications for policy debates on tech regulation, particularly as the EU increasingly delegates regulatory objectives to standards bodies. This research demonstrates that the cultural politics of participation shapes not only which actors benefit from ‘open’ digital infrastructures but what futures those infrastructures render technically and politically possible.